God's People and the Fiery Furnace

INTRODUCTION

We are back in Daniel this this morning.

You can open your Bibles to Daniel 3.

The last time we were in Daniel, we saw the scene regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

He had a disturbing dream about a giant statue with a golden head, silver chest and arms, bronze abdomen and thighs and iron legs and feet of iron and clay.

If the wise men of his court could not interpret the dream without even knowing the contents, he threatened to kill them all.

This would have included Daniel and his three friends because they were trained up to service in the King’s court.

Ultimately, God reveals the contents and interpretation of the dream to Daniel and Daniel relays it to Nebuchadnezzar.

And what the dream depicted was the future events of the Ancient Near East

The golden head was Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon

Which will give way to the silver of Persia

Which will give way to the Bronze of Greece

And that will give way to the strong and brittle Kingdom of Rome.

The fact that Daniel could interpret led to him and his three friends being exalted in the king’s court and being placed in high positions.

But this won’t last for Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego

In Daniel 3, they will be under threat and once again.

And like in chapter 2, there is a statue that is at the center of the controversy, only this time—it is not a dream. It is real life.

I am going to read our passage and then give us our outline for the morning.

TEXT—these are the very words of God

Daniel 3 ESV

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

OUTLINE

1. God’s people are pressured to conform to the world’s counterfeits (v. 1-7).

2. God’s people more readily resist the world when we stand together (v. 8-18).

3. God’s people must choose faithfulness in the furnaces over the world’s falsehood (v. 19-27).

4. God’s people will not be burned up by the world’s fiercest flames (v. 28-30).

PRESSURED TO CONFORM (v. 1-7)

We start with the first seven verses where we have our first teaching point:

1. God’s people are pressured to conform to the world’s counterfeits (v. 1-7).

EXPOSITION

COUNTERFEIT IMAGE

One of the first things that we notice in this passage is that Nebuchadnezzar has gone from dreaming about a statue to making and erecting a statue.

And there are similarities between the statue in the dream and the statue being set up on the Plain of Dura.

In the dream, he saw the image that had a golden head, which was him.

But the statue in the dream also showed that the golden head would give way to the silver chest and arms.

Babylon will fall to Persia.

Nebuchadnezzar’s response to all of this seems to be a prideful attempt at counteracting the dream.

He created a statue that is 90 feet fall and 9 feet wide and it is made entirely of gold.

It is as if he is saying, “Babylon will never fall. I will make a statue of all gold to show that the silver, bronze and iron and clay will never come.”

It is as if he is saying, “The stone uncut by human hands that destroyed the statue in chapter 2, will not bring down this statue.”

No iron and clay feet to be found here!

Just pure gold from head to toe!

We don’t know if the statue is of Nebuchadnezzar or one of his Babylonian gods.

I tend to lean toward it being a Babylonian god.

The way Nebuchadnezzar talks about the service of his gods when accusing the men of bowing down, makes it sound like it is a statue of a false god—not the King.

But Five times in the first three verses of the chapter, we are told that Nebuchadnezzar made or set up that statue.

We are told again in verses 5, 7, 12, 15 and 18.

It is clear that whether the statue is the King or one of his gods, everyone knew whose power was behind the statue.

It is Nebuchadnezzar.

And the mandate for everyone to bow down before the statue is ultimately a mandate to bow down before his power and authority.

But in reality, we saw in chapter 2 that it is the Lord who sets kings up and removes them.

We saw that no man or woman on earth has authority unless God has given it to them.

The statue in the dream represented the reality of God’s plan for His glory in history.

Nebuchadnezzar’s statue is not representative of reality.

It is a counterfeit attempt to counteract God’s revelation.

CONNECTION TO BABEL

If we keep studying past verse 1, we will see that we are reminded of another time when there was a counterfeit in the plains of Babylon.

In verses 3, we see that all of the leaders and officials and positions of authority in Babylon come to a dedication for the image that the King had set up.

In verse 4-5, a herald says: You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are all to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Notice who is commanded.

All the conquered nations who have been exiled to Babylon and co-opted into the kingdom.

And notice what they are commanded to do?

They are to bow down at the sound of the music and worship the golden image the King set up.

All these different types of instruments are listed out—instruments that represent all the different nations who have come and brought their culture with them to Babylon.

What we have happening here, is a call in the land of Babylon to leave your gods and way of life behind, and to bow down to the authority of Nebuchadnezzar and worship his gods.

Admit your gods have lost.

Nebuchadnezzar is doing this to cement the legacy of his kingdom

Nebuchadnezzar is doing this to demand uniform devotion apart from God

This is all reminiscent of what happened in the land of Shinar—which was a part of Babylon’s kingdom in the days of Nebuchadnezzar—where the Tower of Babel was erected.

Genesis 11:1–4 ESV

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

The goals of Babel were the same as the goals of Nebuchadnezzar.

The people wanted to erect Babel to cement their legacy

The people wanted to erect Babel to create a uniformity and keep from scattering

The goals of Babel were the same as the goals of the Babylonian King

They built a tower for the greatness of themselves, just as Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel 3

And the uniformity in devotion to Nebuchadnezzar and his gods was not a suggestion.

As we see in v. 6, there is an ultimatum.

Bow down or burn in the furnace.

Conform to the counterfeit or die.

So in light of that, when the music played, the people hit the ground.

They bowed and worshiped the golden image made by the King.

THE PRESSURE TO CONFORM TO COUNTERFEITS

Our connection to the world of Babylon is not hard to make.

Like in the days of Babel and Babylon, humanity is still trying to counteract God’s Word and will through counterfeits.

That is what Nebuchadnezzar is guilty of.

That is what Babel was guilty of.

Humanity is still trying to cement its legacy and and demand uniform devotion apart from any devotion to God.

Legacy:

For example, humanity is obsessed with new technological achievements (whether they are ethical or not), if we believe it will multiply the great legacy of man

If they help us live longer and better, man jumps in with two feet

Humanity establishes new categories and act as if they have always been there:

Cisgender, Transgender, Gender Fluid, Gender Neutral

Humanity will eliminate children as a form of birth control, encourage less children for population control and redefining family and reproduction with technological control

There is a new way to be human.

And you better get on board...

United Devotion:

Just like in the days of Babel and Babylon, you better be ready to bow down.

Get with the tech or get left behind.

It doesn’t matter if God said male and female He created them—humans have declared they have no Creator and they get to call the shots

Abortion is not abortion—it is reproductive rights and women’s healthcare—agree or be exiled

The world expects a united devotion to these things.

Silicon Valley expects we will plug in everything they ship out

LGBT activists expect that cultural norms will be shifted by everyone

Certain politicians in our state expect we would all support the enshrinement of unfettered abortion access in the state Constitution at the ballot box in November 2026

Bow down to the new way to be human or we are warned, “History won’t be kind to you.”

Get in line with this united devotion around the wisdom of man or get gone.

This is where as Christians we must recognize the counterfeits for what they are—attempts by men and women to counteract God’s authority.

When we see the world bowing down to the counterfeit, we should be the only ones left standing.

When the music plays and the crowd hits the ground, we should be standing on the Gospel that has saved us, that is saving us and that will save us unto the end.

We should be standing on the truth and power of God’s Word.

See—for the three men to bow down would have been for them to say, “The Babylonian gods are more powerful than our God.”

To take the knee would have been to say, “Yahweh has been defeated.”

But these men would never say that because they knew God’s glory was at stake.

And this is how we must be.

As believers, the legacy we care about is the glory of God.

We want His glory extended throughout the earth and into eternity, not our own.

We want united devotion.

But we don’t want united devotion if God is not at the center of it.

We want a a united, global devotion to Jesus Christ, who judges the living and the dead and deserves all worship.

We stand for something the world refuses to bow to—the Lord Jesus and His glorious Kingdom.

We stand in defiant victory because He will never defeated.

And in turn, we should be resolved to not bow to the thing they fall prostrate before.

READILY RESISTING THE WORLD (v. 8-18)

THE STAND AT THE CEREMONY (v. 8-12)

Now—as we look at verses 8-18, we have to understand just how much these three guys would have stuck out when that music played.

They refused to conform and bow to the counterfeit and it would have been pretty obvious to everyone at that dedication.

It was certainly obvious to the Chaldeans who came forward and accused them after the ceremony. (v. 8)

We get a description of their stand for Yahweh in v. 9-12.

They remind Nebuchadnezzar of the statute he had made regarding the statue.

If anyone did not bow down when the music played and worship the golden image would be burned in the fiery furnace. (v. 9-11)

And they say that there were just three men who refused to play along. (v. 12)

These three are the Jewish men appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

They say that these men pay Nebuchadnezzar no attention.

They refuse to serve or worship Babylonian gods.

Just to grasp the boldness of Daniel’s friends, listen to Stuart Olyott:

Let us try to imagine the scene recorded in verses 8 to 12. Let us try to picture the immense crowd, the excitement and the air of expectancy. At last the orchestra plays and, as commanded, the multitude bows to the earth. There—as conspicuous as can be—are just three people still standing up...The whole empire is bowing down, but three, and three alone, have the audacity to remain on their feet.

Stuart Olyott

Olyott says something that should cause us to take notice.

While these men stand alone, they are alone as they stand.

There are three of them. Not one. Not even two. But three.

2. God’s people more readily resist the world when we stand together (v. 8-18).

CONTINUING TO STAND TOGETHER (v. 13-18)

We don’t just see this in verses 8-12, but in verses 13-18.

The King brings the three men before him in a rage and he questions them over whether or not it is true that they refuse to serve his gods and worship the golden image he has set up (v. 13-14).

And before they can even answer, he gives them a chance to prove their devotion to him and his gods right on the spot. (v. 15)

The music will play and if they do what he has demanded, it is well and good.

If not—they will go to the furnace.

And the King wants to know, “Who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

His question will be answered directly in just a few verses.

The stand that the three men take in this moment may be even more impressive than their boldness at the dedication.

They are standing in front of the man who claims to holds their lives in his hands.

And yet, they respond with a theologically astute refusal.

Daniel 3:17–18 ESV

If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

This is a brilliant response.

Nebuchadnezzar wants to know who will save them? Who is this god?

After telling him that they have no need to respond with a yes or no, they say, “The God we serve is able. And the God we serve will. But even if He chooses not to, we will worship Him over your gods and your image.”

In other words, “God can. God will. But even if He doesn’t, it doesn’t change His worthiness. And it doesn’t change the worthlessness of your false gods.”

From the dedication to the judgment seat of the king and the precipice of the furnace, the three men do not flinch.

Their trust in God is unwavering.

Their defiance in the face of the temptation of saving their own skin to the detriment of God’s glory is unmoved.

And we can have no doubt that their spines were strengthened by the fact that they were standing shoulder to shoulder.

RESISTING TOGETHER

This is a principle taught to us by the Lord’s Word:

Ecclesiastes 4:12 ESV

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

We may not face a temptation in the face of life and death to save our own skin, but the pressures of the world are certainly pressing against us, Church.

The Apostle John tells us of the temptations the world places in front of us:

1 John 2:16 ESV

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

The desires of the flesh are those desires which rise up in sinful humanity.

Things like lust and gluttony and drunkenness—things that satiate the sinful flesh

The desires of the eyes are those temptations that arise through the eyes.

We see and we covet. We see and we think, “I deserve that. I am entitled to that. I must have it at any cost.”

This is what drives so much sin in attitude and behavior in the world.

Everything from sexual immorality to a sinful lack of contentment arise from the desires of the eyes.

The pride of life is what we see Nebuchadnezzar displaying in this passage.

It is a false sense of self-importance and self-exaltation based on the power, position, prestige and possessions that a person has acquired.

When the music of the desires of the flesh and the eyes and the pride of life play, the world falls down.

They are spiritually enslaved to these things.

They have a miserable loyalty to these things.

And there is a vitriol and aggression that arises if one would dare to say these things are evil and not of the Father.

There is often irritation and opposition when God’s people refuse to fall down when the music plays.

The world wonders—Who are you to not serve our gods?

This is when we need each other the most.

This is when we must stand together.

And one of the main ways we do that is by continuing to come to this place every week and say, “I must gather with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day so that I would be stirred up to honor God and resist the world.”

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

If we want strong spines, we must stand shoulder to shoulder.

We need each other if we are going to be in the world, but not of the world.

We need each other if we are going to not fall to our knees when the music plays.

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

Billy Graham

Knowing that is the reality, we must come together in this one body we are called into.

Jesus died to provide the strength of this fellowship for us.

Let us stand in it.

FAITHFULNESS IN THE FURNACES (v. 19-27)

At this point in the narrative, Nebuchadnezzar has had enough. (v. 19)

He was filled with fury.

His face turned on the men.

He wanted the furnace heated up seven times hotter than usual

He binds the men and casts them into the fiery furnace (v. 20).

They are in their clothes that they wear in the king’s court. (v. 21)

The fire is so hot it burns up the men who were throwing Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego into the fire (v. 22)

But as these men fall into the furnace (v. 23), they amazingly do not burn up.

This blows the king’s mind and he rose up in haste to examine the situation.= (v. 24)

The furnace was like a big pot. At the bottom there was a side door that they would use to stoke the fire.

Nebuchadnezzar looks into the stoke window and he can see that not only are the men alive, but there seems to be a fourth man in the fire with them.

Nebuchadnezzar is doing the math and he is alarmed. He asks his counselors and they confirm there should only be three.

Who is this fourth who is like a son of the gods?

3. God’s people must choose faithfulness in the furnaces over the world’s falsehood (v. 19-27).

Some believe that the fourth man in the furnace is an angel because of what Nebuchadnezzar says in v. 28.

However, the Hebrew word simply means “a messenger from God.”

Some believe it is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Nebuchadnezzar says there is a fourth like a son of the gods, a term utilized by the King to say, “There is a some sort of supernatural man in there with the three.”

Many Bible commentators—including the earliest Christian commentators—said that Nebuchadnezzar is seeing none other than the 2nd Person of the Trinity.

They said this was a Christophany.

Christophany: a physical appearance of Christ before the Incarnation.

Either way, the divine being in the fire is a clear sign that God’s presence is with His suffering children.

However, I do agree with the viewpoint that this is the Lord Jesus Christ, because of what we know of the Lord Jesus Christ.

IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US

I believe this is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ because Jesus is Immanuel.

He is “God with us.”

He is the God-Man who entered into the furnace of this world, felt the flames of the Cross so that we would not have to.

And here—six hundred years before He was Immanuel in the Manger, He is Immanuel in the furnace.

Six hundred years before He was our propitiation at Calvary, atoning for sin and receiving God’s wrath, He was the preservation of the three men in the fire of Nebuchadnezzar’s wrath

WITH THEM IN THE FLAMES

Now just imagined if the men had capitulated and bowed down as the music played.

They may have saved themselves from a terrifying experience in the flames, but they also would robbed themselves of the privilege of having the Son of God near them in the fire.

The only way to walk with Pre-Incarnate Son of God in the flesh, in this instance, was to go into the furnace and feel the heat of the flames.

And so often this is the way it is with our lives.

Nobody wants faithfulness to take them into the furnace, but we have to understand that this is where we typically experience the presence of Christ most closely.

Doing the right thing is hard.

Choosing faithfulness is hard.

But that is what the three men do—regardless of the consequences:

God can. God will. But even if He doesn’t we will praise Him and Him alone.

As followers of Christ, we must do the right things and trust the results to God.

We must obey Christ out of love and delight, and leave the aftermath to Him.

But as we do this, He promises us this:

Isaiah 43:2 ESV

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

v. 26 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar called out to the men at the stoke window.

He is no longer demeaning their God, but instead, the King calls him the Most High God.

And in v. 27 we see that the wise men and rulers of the King’s court examine them and find that the fire had no power over the bodies of the men.

Hair was not singed.

Cloaks were not harmed.

No smell of fire was upon them.

This is all amazing.

We go to campfires and we smell like an ash-pile.

These guys were in the flames and the flames were powerless to harm them.

They experienced the promise of Isaiah 43 in a literal way.

And this is significant because God made that promise to Judah as they were preparing for Exile.

What happens here with Daniel’s friends is indicative of how God would deal with His people in Exile.

He has allowed them to be taken into the fire pot of Babylon, but He will not allow them to be consumed.

WITH US IN THE FLAMES

It is painful to resist the world at times.

It can strain our familial relationships or cause us to lose them all together.

It can lead to being socially ostracized

It can have professional repercussions for us.

It can lead to flat out ridicule and reviling, which Jesus counts as persecution in the Beatitudes

It could maybe even lead to physical persecution

And yet, just as the three Jewish men were not alone in the furnace, neither are we.

Christ has left His Spirit.

1 John 4:4 ESV

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Christ in you is greater that the flames of the world’s furnace.

And in Him we overcome the world, just as He overcame the world:

John 16:33 ESV

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Take heart, Christian.

Christ is with you in the flames.

And if your faithfulness doesn’t bring you to the furnace now and then, we miss out on walking with Christ in those flames.

The world may come for your body.

They may come for your reputation.

They may come for your job.

They may take your very life.

But they cannot change the fact that you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.

You know Christ, who will judge the world, as your Savior.

That means your soul is off limits from every enemy and you need not fear any Nebuchadnezzar.

Matthew 10:28 ESV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

On this day, before we move on, I want to say a word to moms—Mothers, raise your boys and girls to believe this.

Raise them to believe that if they trust in Jesus their soul is safe, therefore, let the spine be strong.

Grandmothers—encourage your grandchildren in this way.

You have seen the threats come and go—tell them that none of these threats can even put the smudge of a fingerprint on their soul.

NOT BURNED UP (v. 26-28)

Let’s conclude with a final point.

4. God’s people will not be burned up by the world’s fiercest flames (v. 28-30).

The first three chapters of Daniel have all followed a very similar story arch.

Daniel and his three friends are in some sort of conflict or controversy due to a collision of kingdoms.

Things look bleak.

God intervenes.

And they end up in a better position than where they started.

This is once more the case in chapter 3.

First of all, in verse 28, the King blesses the God of Judah—the God of these faithful men—for how they trusted their God and gave up their bodies for Him.

And he blesses God for how God delivered them all.

Secondly, He makes a decree that if any people, nation, or language that speaks ill of the God of Daniel’s friends will be torn limb from limb.

Their houses will lay in ruins.

Because there will be no God to deliver them.

He sees that only Yahweh can rescue with this sort of power.

And then thirdly, they are promoted in the province of Babylon, much like the end of chapter 2.

THE PROMISES OF GOD FOR HIS PERSEVERING CHURCH

In chapter 2, we saw God’s Kingdom depicted as a stone flying into destroy the kingdoms of man.

In chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar is trying to counteract that.

He issues a decree saying, “Bow down or burn up.”

And yet, by the end of chapter 3, three men who never bowed down are not burnt up, but promoted.

Once more, just as in Daniel 1 and 2, as these faithful young Jewish men hold the line of God’s truth, the Kingdom of God wins and the kingdom of man loses.

This is the pattern we will see throughout the first six chapters of this book.

And this is the story of history.

Matthew 16:18 ESV

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Christ has built the church.

He is the Cornerstone.

Peter and the Apostles are the foundation.

And now each of us are living stones being added to the house.

And unlike Nebuchadnezzar’s house, the house shall not fall.

In Matthew 16, Jesus uses the image of gates.

Gates are not offensive.

The gates of a city are defensive.

And that means that we are storming the gates as the household of God.

And what Jesus is saying is that the gates of Hell shall not prevail.

Meaning, as we come against the gates with the truth of God, like Daniel’s three friends, we can be confident that Hell is not going to win.

We can be confident that the Kingdom of Man is not going to win.

And we can be sure that one day, there will be no more flames to walk through.

It will just be the streets that are like gold.

CONCLUSION

Knowing these things are true stand.

Until then, Don’t give into the pressure.

Resist the world together.

Choose to be faithful and walk with Christ in the furnaces.

And remember that in the end, Christ wins. The kingdom wins. The church wins.

Hold the Line.