Were the people in the
Bible any different to us today?
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Or ordinary
people like you and me?
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What can we find out
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from their lives
that will help us?
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Find out with
Pastor Geoff Youlden
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and Rosemary Malkiewycz,
here on People Just Like Us.
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We're glad to have
you with us again today,
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as we learn more
lessons from the Word of God.
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In this program
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we'll be
looking at three friends
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who showed great faith
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and trust in God
during a fiery trial.
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We may have to go
through tough trials too.
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So let's see what we can
learn from their experience.
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Geoff, who are
the three friends?
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Better known as
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
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Although, that
wasn't their Hebrew names.
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No, that's right.
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But it's their Babylonian
names that we know them best by.
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That's right. We do.
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And on the opposite
with Daniel, of course.
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Isn't that
strange? It's very strange.
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Daniel kept
using his Hebrew name,
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but the other
three were referred to
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by their Babylonian.
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Yes. Babylonian,
Babylonish names.
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Yeah, well, it's
simply because it's recorded
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that way in the Bible, I guess.
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So, there must be some reason.
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I think this chapter,
the third chapter of Daniel
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is one of the
greatest chapters in the Bible.
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I mean, that's like saying,
which is your favorite child.
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They're all the same.
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You know, they're all favorites.
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But, however, this is
an outstanding chapter.
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And I'd like to read
from the 3 Chapter of Daniel
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and verse 1, where it says here,
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"Nebuchadnezzar the
king made an image of gold,
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whose height was sixty
cubits and its width six cubits.
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He set it up on
the plain of Dura,
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in the province of Babylon.
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And King Nebuchadnezzar
sent word to gather
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together the
satraps, the administrators,
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the governors, the
counselors, the treasurers,
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the judges, the magistrates,
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and all the
officials of the provinces,
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to come to the
dedication of the image
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which King
Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
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So the satraps
and administrators,
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the governors, the counselors,
the treasurers, the judges,
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the magistrates,
and all the officials
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of the provinces
gathered together
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for the dedication of the image
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that King
Nebuchadnezzar had set up,
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and they stood before the image
that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
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Then a herald cried
aloud: 'To you it is commanded,
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O peoples,
nations, and languages,
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that at the time you hear
the sound of the horn, flute,
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harp, lyre, and psaltery,
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in symphony with
all kinds of music,
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you shall fall down
and worship the gold image
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that King
Nebuchadnezzar had set up."
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I mean, that was a
pretty serious event,
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wasn't it?
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Well, they certainly
made sure everybody knew
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what had to happen
because they repeated it too.
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Absolutely.
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And then it says
whoever does not fall down
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and worship shall
be cast immediately
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into the midst of a
burning fiery furnace.
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Well, I think that wouldn't
be enough to make anybody do it.
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Well, to me...
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I would think, Rosemary,
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that if you taught
religion like that,
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you would have
lots of adherence.
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Yes, but you wouldn't
have a lot of converts.
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And that's the way he
was teaching religion.
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Actually, it's very interesting
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I find this
number of 60 cubits high
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and 6 cubits wide.
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How big is that?
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Well, the most
common form of measurement
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is usually they suggest,
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you know, from
here to here is a cubit.
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So that would make it
around about 30 odd meters tall
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and a couple of meters wide.
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This is a
10-story building... Hmm?
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That's a 10-story building. Yes.
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Well, it's
interesting that the number
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that this number
six is very interesting
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in the Babylonian power because,
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you know, we've changed
over the decimal system,
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most parts of the world
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now operating on
the decimal system
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and most of us find
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that the decimal
system is a good...
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Very easy. Very easy. Yes.
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I mean, I was brought
up on the imperial system,
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you know, 12 times.
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I say to kids these days,
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you only have to learn
10 lots of times table.
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I had to learn 12.
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But we've changed over
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but 10 is divisible by
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5 and by 2.
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But, if you take the 60-system
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is what was invented
here by the Babylonians,
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they invented it by...
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You can divide into
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60, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6...
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And 10.
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Which makes it
very easy for division,
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multiplication and so forth,
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which is really
superior to the decimal system
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that we have.
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And that's where
that we get the idea
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of 60 seconds to the minute.
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Well, time can't be decimal.
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No, well, 60
minutes to the hour.
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And the circle is 360 degrees,
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which is simply 60x6
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and all through the
system ran the number 6.
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That's right.
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And it's
interesting on the other hand
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that God's number is number 7.
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All through the Bible,
you know, you got 7 churches,
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7 seals, 7 trumpets...
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Seven is a number of perfection.
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Yes, 7.
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And not only is it in the Bible,
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but 7 is also in nature.
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For example, we have the fact
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that many of the
birds and animals
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their gestation
periods are all multiples of 7.
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Really?
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And then when it
comes to music we'll look at
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and there are 7 notes,
and only 7 notes in music.
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That's all there are.
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There are 7
colors in the rainbow.
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And the number 7,
there are 7 days in the week.
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And so the number 7
runs all through the Bible
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as God's number
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but when the
devil set up his system,
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which was Babel,
the Tower of Babel,
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which is where
Babylon comes from.
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That system was set
up on the very opposite
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in absolute antagonism
and opposite to what God does.
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So they chose 6.
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And it's interesting
that when you add together,
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number 7 and number 6...
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You get 13.
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You get 13, and everyone knows
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that 13 is considered
to be a very, very unlucky,
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especially if
it's Friday with 13th.
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Yes.
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And... Because Friday...
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because 6 and 7 making 13.
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It's a
counterfeit with the truth
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being added together.
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People today don't realize
the origin of these things
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because most of
the things that we have
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come from the Bible,
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but because we live in a
secular world, generally,
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they have
forgotten the fact that
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the numbers in the
Bible are very significant
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and 13, from time immemorial,
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it has been
regarded as being unlucky.
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Because when you mix
together things of God
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and things of the
devil, you always have trouble.
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The clean and the unclean. Yeah.
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So just interesting
that when you read here
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to start off
with the 60x6 cubits,
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I mean, you can just imagine
where this thing came from.
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I mean, the question is asked,
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where did Nebuchadnezzar
get such an idea from
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erecting this huge
image so high and so wide?
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Where did he get that from?
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They all of gold. Hmm?
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All of gold. Yeah, all of gold.
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Well, I think that
there's the answer to that
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is simply in the
second chapter of Daniel
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because you will remember
that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream
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and Daniel
interpreted the dream.
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And he said, "You
are the head of gold,
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breast and arms of silver,
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belly and thighs of
brass, legs of iron,
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and feet part of
iron, part of clay."
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And Daniel in interpretation
said to Nebuchadnezzar,
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you are this head of gold.
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And so, really Chapter 3
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is his defiance of God,
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because he's defying
Daniel's interpretation
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and saying there's
gonna be another power
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and followed by another power,
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followed by another power...
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Which meant that
Nebuchadnezzar's power was
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or his kingdom
was not gonna last.
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Well, he made sure,
what he was trying to say
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that my kingdom
is going to last.
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And I think that he
was particularly impressed
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with verse 44
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of Chapter 2,
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where it says, "And in
the days of these kings
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the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom
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which shall never be destroyed."
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Now, that is what he wanted.
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"And the kingdom shall
not be left to other people,
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it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms,
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and it shall stand forever."
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That's the type of kingdom
that Nebuchadnezzar wanted.
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And I think in Chapter
3, in defiance of Daniel's
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and his interpretation
in defiance of God,
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he's setting up a kingdom,
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this image which
represents his kingdom,
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which he said it's
going to last forever.
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And making it all of
gold. He was the head of gold.
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So, this is my
kingdom and it's going to be,
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the whole image is my kingdom.
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Yeah, well, I can just
imagine these three boys.
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They spent the night
then, you know, on the day
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when everything was
going to take place,
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when everyone had to
bow before this image,
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I can imagine they spent
the whole night in prayer
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because this was a serious time.
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Now, sometimes people
say, well, where was Daniel?
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Because Daniel's not
mentioned in Chapter 3.
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No, he's not.
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Well, we would presume that
Daniel wasn't in the kingdom
00:10:01.80\00:10:04.93
at that time that perhaps
00:10:04.97\00:10:06.53
because of his
prime ministership,
00:10:06.57\00:10:09.04
and his
responsibilities in the kingdom
00:10:09.07\00:10:11.61
that he was probably
00:10:11.64\00:10:13.01
in the far
reaches of the kingdom
00:10:13.04\00:10:14.58
because there's no question
that if Daniel had been there,
00:10:14.61\00:10:17.48
he would have been faithful too.
00:10:17.51\00:10:18.85
That's right.
00:10:18.88\00:10:20.22
Because he certainly was
faithful in the lions' den
00:10:20.25\00:10:22.05
which is, you know, Chapter 6.
00:10:22.08\00:10:23.75
So, but, getting
back to Shadrach,
00:10:23.79\00:10:26.86
Meshach and Abednego,
00:10:26.89\00:10:28.22
here they are, being
arrayed with everybody else.
00:10:28.26\00:10:32.79
Because Nebuchadnezzar knew
00:10:32.83\00:10:34.43
that his kingdom from without
was impossible to overcome
00:10:34.46\00:10:39.13
because the walls,
in fact, Herod had said,
00:10:39.17\00:10:41.40
that the walls
were over 300 feet
00:10:41.44\00:10:44.01
or about 100 meters in height.
00:10:44.04\00:10:46.14
You could race two chariots
or something around there.
00:10:46.17\00:10:47.51
Yeah, two or
three chariots around,
00:10:47.54\00:10:49.34
the tops of the
walls are impregnable.
00:10:49.38\00:10:51.68
And
Nebuchadnezzar realized that,
00:10:51.71\00:10:53.75
but he also
understood that the danger
00:10:53.78\00:10:57.02
that was from
rebellion from within.
00:10:57.05\00:10:59.69
So, he wanted to
unite the kingdom within
00:10:59.72\00:11:03.63
and they wanted to unite it
00:11:03.66\00:11:05.46
with the idea of
him being the god.
00:11:05.49\00:11:08.90
And they would
worship him and his image,
00:11:08.93\00:11:12.10
that's really the background.
00:11:12.13\00:11:13.74
And I can imagine the day
00:11:13.77\00:11:15.54
when this whole
thing took place,
00:11:15.57\00:11:18.64
you know, the camels
00:11:18.67\00:11:20.01
with a rich
revenue of coverings.
00:11:20.04\00:11:24.01
There were the Arabian
horses prancing around,
00:11:24.05\00:11:28.15
there would be the music,
there would be the glamour,
00:11:28.18\00:11:32.55
and just everything
would have just been
00:11:32.59\00:11:35.76
absolutely fantastic as far as
putting on a show is concerned.
00:11:35.79\00:11:39.36
Yes.
00:11:39.39\00:11:40.73
And here are these
three boys are arrayed
00:11:40.76\00:11:43.97
and on the plain of
Dura, because it says
00:11:44.00\00:11:46.60
in the plain of Dura that today
and I've been there, it's flat.
00:11:46.63\00:11:50.91
It's as flat as the
floor in your house.
00:11:50.94\00:11:55.44
And so this image
would have stood out
00:11:55.48\00:11:57.25
for miles in every direction.
00:11:57.28\00:11:59.21
Wow. Ten stories high. Yes.
00:11:59.25\00:12:01.22
Yeah, you would see it and,
00:12:01.25\00:12:03.59
and it would have
flashed in the sunlight.
00:12:03.62\00:12:05.42
You know, gold flashing.
00:12:05.45\00:12:07.72
It must have been
a magnificent scene
00:12:07.76\00:12:10.39
that Nebuchadnezzar had created.
00:12:10.43\00:12:13.19
And suddenly in
verse 4, it says,
00:12:13.23\00:12:15.63
"Then a herald cried
aloud: "To you it is commanded,
00:12:15.66\00:12:19.73
O peoples,
nations, and languages,"
00:12:19.77\00:12:21.50
and you can see all
the people gather there,
00:12:21.54\00:12:23.84
"that at the time you
hear the sound of the horn,
00:12:23.87\00:12:26.11
the flute, the harp,
the lyre, and psaltery,
00:12:26.14\00:12:28.01
in symphony with
all kinds of music,
00:12:28.04\00:12:29.84
you shall fall down
and worship the gold image
00:12:29.88\00:12:32.11
that King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up,
00:12:32.15\00:12:34.15
and whoever does not fall down
00:12:34.18\00:12:35.95
and worship shall
be cast immediately
00:12:35.98\00:12:38.49
into the midst of a
burning fiery furnace."
00:12:38.52\00:12:41.76
And like,
00:12:41.79\00:12:45.06
on, you know,
00:12:45.09\00:12:48.80
on show on that very moment,
00:12:48.83\00:12:50.43
it says, "So at that time,
00:12:50.47\00:12:53.64
when all the people
heard the sound of the horn,
00:12:53.67\00:12:55.90
the flute, the harp,
the lyre, in symphony
00:12:55.94\00:12:57.97
with all kinds of
music, all the people, it says,
00:12:58.01\00:13:01.54
nations, and languages fell down
00:13:01.58\00:13:03.68
and worshiped the gold image
00:13:03.71\00:13:05.05
which King
Nebuchadnezzar had set up."
00:13:05.08\00:13:07.22
So like on queue.
00:13:07.25\00:13:10.19
And they would have
been hurrying to do it
00:13:10.22\00:13:11.99
so they didn't get
thrown into the fiery furnace.
00:13:12.02\00:13:13.92
I tell you, that's
the way to as we said
00:13:13.96\00:13:15.92
it was unanimous
00:13:15.96\00:13:17.29
and that's the
way to teach religion.
00:13:17.33\00:13:19.79
And Nebuchadnezzar,
00:13:19.83\00:13:21.86
I can see sitting
back on his throne
00:13:21.90\00:13:23.83
feeling very, very happy
because like on one mesh,
00:13:23.87\00:13:27.24
you can see all the
people is bowing down
00:13:27.27\00:13:29.00
as the music sounds.
00:13:29.04\00:13:30.37
Obedience. Yes.
00:13:30.41\00:13:31.74
And Nebuchadnezzar
feeling very satisfied.
00:13:31.77\00:13:34.28
My kingdom is secure.
00:13:34.31\00:13:36.85
They're worshiping me.
00:13:36.88\00:13:38.78
And suddenly, is it in verse 12?
00:13:38.81\00:13:43.69
Suddenly, a
messenger comes in and says,
00:13:43.72\00:13:47.62
"There are certain Jews..."
00:13:47.66\00:13:50.33
And you can see the
bite in this as you read.
00:13:50.36\00:13:53.13
"There are certain
Jews whom you have set
00:13:53.16\00:13:55.90
over the affairs of Babylon,
00:13:55.93\00:13:57.83
Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, these men, O king,
00:13:57.87\00:14:01.24
have not paid you regard to you.
00:14:01.27\00:14:02.94
They do not serve your
gods or worship the gold image
00:14:02.97\00:14:05.67
which you have set up."
00:14:05.71\00:14:07.04
Now, once again,
we got to understand
00:14:07.08\00:14:08.68
a little bit of
the background here
00:14:08.71\00:14:10.05
to understand the
venom in those words.
00:14:10.08\00:14:13.82
There are certain
Jews whom you have set up,
00:14:13.85\00:14:17.65
because you see those Jews,
00:14:17.69\00:14:19.62
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
00:14:19.65\00:14:21.06
and Daniel had
taken their positions.
00:14:21.09\00:14:23.83
The king preferred
them over the Babylonians.
00:14:23.86\00:14:26.29
Now, you know,
people don't like that.
00:14:26.33\00:14:29.36
And when foreigners come
in and take their positions,
00:14:29.40\00:14:33.07
you know, we sometimes have that
00:14:33.10\00:14:34.44
in politics and
in our own countries.
00:14:34.47\00:14:36.44
And this was the
issue back here in Babylon,
00:14:36.47\00:14:39.34
these certain Jews
that you have appointed,
00:14:39.37\00:14:42.61
they do not regard you.
00:14:42.64\00:14:43.98
Instead of us. Yes, yes.
00:14:44.01\00:14:45.58
And, well, that
explains why they hated
00:14:45.61\00:14:48.82
these Jews so much.
00:14:48.85\00:14:50.89
And King Nebuchadnezzar
00:14:50.92\00:14:52.62
was just about to
burst a blood vessel
00:14:52.65\00:14:54.96
because it says in verse
13, "Then Nebuchadnezzar,
00:14:54.99\00:14:58.33
in rage and fury,
00:14:58.36\00:15:01.10
gave the command
to bring Shadrach,
00:15:01.13\00:15:02.76
Meshach and Abednego.
00:15:02.80\00:15:04.23
So they brought
these men before the king."
00:15:04.27\00:15:06.94
And as you say
you can almost see
00:15:06.97\00:15:09.44
his jugular veins
sticking out in his neck
00:15:09.47\00:15:11.91
and his neck going all red.
00:15:11.94\00:15:13.41
He was so furious
00:15:13.44\00:15:15.08
that these men were
going to upset his kingdom.
00:15:15.11\00:15:17.85
Well, see now his
kingdom wasn't secure.
00:15:17.88\00:15:20.78
And the unification of it, yes.
00:15:20.82\00:15:22.68
And verse 14,
"Nebuchadnezzar spoke,
00:15:22.72\00:15:25.12
saying to them, 'Is it true,
00:15:25.15\00:15:27.39
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
that you do not serve my gods
00:15:27.42\00:15:32.13
or worship the gold
image which I have set up?'"
00:15:32.16\00:15:35.86
And once again, in those words,
00:15:35.90\00:15:38.20
you can read the background.
00:15:38.23\00:15:40.14
I could almost feel his
voice trembling as he said,
00:15:40.17\00:15:43.54
"Is it true,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
00:15:43.57\00:15:47.01
of all the people in my kingdom
00:15:47.04\00:15:49.34
that I thought
would be loyal to me,
00:15:49.38\00:15:51.25
it's you because after all,
00:15:51.28\00:15:53.25
I lifted you from slavery
into the exalted positions
00:15:53.28\00:15:57.95
that you have in my kingdom."
00:15:57.99\00:15:59.59
And I've trusted you.
00:15:59.62\00:16:01.02
"Yeah, and I
would have expected that
00:16:01.06\00:16:02.42
you would be loyal to me?"
00:16:02.46\00:16:03.79
That's really the
background of this.
00:16:03.83\00:16:06.26
All I've done for you.
00:16:06.29\00:16:09.03
Now, is this what you
return to me, you know.
00:16:09.06\00:16:13.37
And I've heard people, you know,
00:16:13.40\00:16:14.77
and I've had people come to me
00:16:14.80\00:16:16.30
and when we've been
teaching them the Bible
00:16:16.34\00:16:20.78
and they say,
well, it's the boss,
00:16:20.81\00:16:22.48
I've got to be
faithful to the boss
00:16:22.51\00:16:24.31
when it comes to being
obedient to God's commandments.
00:16:24.35\00:16:27.35
And the particular commandment
00:16:27.38\00:16:29.65
that God has
asked us to keep and...
00:16:29.68\00:16:32.29
Well, it's the boss
00:16:32.32\00:16:33.66
and I can't let
him down, you know,
00:16:33.69\00:16:35.16
and I like to
remind them of Shadrach,
00:16:35.19\00:16:36.89
Meshach and Abednego,
00:16:36.93\00:16:38.26
because no one
was more dependent
00:16:38.29\00:16:40.16
upon the king
than those three boys.
00:16:40.20\00:16:41.86
If they had been
thrown out of the kingdom,
00:16:41.90\00:16:43.90
they would have become beggars
on the streets of a pagan city,
00:16:43.93\00:16:48.74
without any welfare
or without any future
00:16:48.77\00:16:52.74
to help their wives or children.
00:16:52.77\00:16:56.64
It was a terrible,
terrible experience,
00:16:56.68\00:16:58.41
and yet is it true?
00:16:58.45\00:17:00.55
And I can hear
Nebuchadnezzar saying,
00:17:00.58\00:17:03.12
look, what we want boys
when they suggested, well...
00:17:03.15\00:17:07.39
The only thing
that's really stopping
00:17:07.42\00:17:08.82
is one of those
commandments of God.
00:17:08.86\00:17:10.83
You know,
00:17:10.86\00:17:12.19
I made so many
Christians today feel
00:17:12.23\00:17:14.03
that the commandments
have been done away with.
00:17:14.06\00:17:16.26
And Nebuchadnezzar was saying,
00:17:16.30\00:17:17.63
oh, those commandments
00:17:17.67\00:17:19.00
were all right for
you back in Jerusalem,
00:17:19.03\00:17:20.54
but now you're out
in the big wide world,
00:17:20.57\00:17:22.04
you can't be expected
to keep those commandments.
00:17:22.07\00:17:25.04
And we need today
a broader religion,
00:17:25.07\00:17:29.18
you know, something
that takes in everything,
00:17:29.21\00:17:31.65
broad religion,
you know, unification.
00:17:31.68\00:17:33.78
And, so, that means that...
00:17:33.82\00:17:36.38
Don't want' to be
particular about it,
00:17:36.42\00:17:38.45
it's something
that embraces everybody.
00:17:38.49\00:17:41.66
That's the attitude today
00:17:41.69\00:17:43.12
in so many, many people's minds,
00:17:43.16\00:17:46.29
and that's what
Nebuchadnezzar here was saying.
00:17:46.33\00:17:48.96
You know, I'm always interested
00:17:49.00\00:17:50.97
those who've read the
Book of Revelation know
00:17:51.00\00:17:54.50
that this scene is
going to be reenacted again
00:17:54.54\00:17:58.97
in the last days.
00:17:59.01\00:18:00.34
Please come over
to Revelation 13,
00:18:00.38\00:18:02.48
we have a very,
very similar experience
00:18:02.51\00:18:05.95
for God's people just before
Jesus returns a second time.
00:18:05.98\00:18:10.99
So, this is not just a story
00:18:11.02\00:18:15.59
from the days of Babylon
00:18:15.62\00:18:17.16
and the Book of Daniel,
this is more than a story,
00:18:17.19\00:18:19.79
this is an illustration
of what's going to happen
00:18:19.83\00:18:22.20
to God's people
in the last days.
00:18:22.23\00:18:23.93
This thing is going
to be reenacted again.
00:18:23.97\00:18:26.00
That's right.
How do I know that?
00:18:26.03\00:18:27.57
Just have a
look at Chapter 13...
00:18:27.60\00:18:29.04
It's very similar, isn't it?
00:18:29.07\00:18:30.41
Of Revelation and
verse 14, where it says,
00:18:30.44\00:18:32.34
"And he deceives
those who dwell on the earth
00:18:35.51\00:18:37.78
by those signs,"
00:18:37.81\00:18:39.15
this is talking
about the apostate power,
00:18:39.18\00:18:41.85
"by those signs
which he was granted to do
00:18:41.88\00:18:44.15
in the sight of the beast,
00:18:44.19\00:18:45.52
telling those who
dwell on the earth
00:18:45.55\00:18:47.02
to make an image to the beast
00:18:47.06\00:18:49.62
who was wounded by
the sword and lived."
00:18:49.66\00:18:51.59
Now, here's this image again.
00:18:51.63\00:18:53.43
"He was granted
power to give breath
00:18:53.46\00:18:55.36
to the image of the beast,
00:18:55.40\00:18:57.20
that the image of the beast
00:18:57.23\00:18:58.87
should speak and cause as many
00:18:58.90\00:19:00.70
as would not worship
00:19:00.74\00:19:02.17
the image of the
beast should be killed."
00:19:02.20\00:19:03.94
Exactly, the same as Daniel 3.
00:19:03.97\00:19:05.67
Worshiping the image. Same word.
00:19:05.71\00:19:07.44
You see, if you
ignore the Old Testament,
00:19:07.48\00:19:10.45
you will never
understand the New Testament
00:19:10.48\00:19:12.11
because the New Testament,
00:19:12.15\00:19:13.58
particularly
Revelation is soaked
00:19:13.62\00:19:15.48
in the imagery of
the Old Testament.
00:19:15.52\00:19:16.85
That's right.
00:19:16.89\00:19:18.22
And this
particular chapter is soaked
00:19:18.25\00:19:19.59
in the imagery
of Daniel Chapter 3.
00:19:19.62\00:19:22.46
And it says in 16, verse 16.
00:19:22.49\00:19:24.43
"He causes all,
both small and great,
00:19:24.46\00:19:26.19
rich and poor, free and slave,
00:19:26.23\00:19:28.00
to receive a mark
on their right hand
00:19:28.03\00:19:29.93
or on their foreheads,
00:19:29.96\00:19:31.30
and that no man
might buy or sell
00:19:31.33\00:19:33.03
except one who has the mark
00:19:33.07\00:19:35.07
or the name of the beast,
or the number of his name."
00:19:35.10\00:19:40.48
And so, as I said,
00:19:40.51\00:19:42.51
this story is
more than just a story,
00:19:42.54\00:19:45.21
and unfortunately,
there are many people
00:19:45.25\00:19:46.78
when they read
the Book of Daniel
00:19:46.82\00:19:48.15
and Daniel in the
lions' den likewise.
00:19:48.18\00:19:49.98
They see it as a
story that happened,
00:19:50.02\00:19:52.79
but don't understand
the relevance that it has
00:19:52.82\00:19:54.99
for God's people
just before the end time.
00:19:55.02\00:19:57.99
And so, if we go back
to Nebuchadnezzar again
00:19:58.03\00:20:00.40
and the three
boys because that's
00:20:00.43\00:20:02.06
we haven't
finished the story yet.
00:20:02.10\00:20:03.70
Daniel Chapter 3,
as we read this now,
00:20:03.73\00:20:08.47
we would need to keep in mind
that this is an illustration
00:20:08.50\00:20:12.14
of what's going to
happen in the last days.
00:20:12.17\00:20:15.24
In Daniel 3 again,
this time back in verse 14
00:20:15.28\00:20:19.38
where it says,
"Nebuchadnezzar spoke,
00:20:19.41\00:20:22.25
saying to them, 'Is it true,
00:20:22.28\00:20:23.89
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
00:20:23.92\00:20:26.52
that you do not serve my
gods or worship the gold image
00:20:26.55\00:20:30.93
which I have set up?'
00:20:30.96\00:20:32.53
Now if you are ready at the time
00:20:32.56\00:20:35.53
you hear the sound of the
horn, the flute, the harp,
00:20:35.56\00:20:37.47
the lyre, the
psaltery, in sympathy
00:20:37.50\00:20:39.40
with all kinds of
music and you fall down
00:20:39.43\00:20:41.24
and worship the image
which I have made, good!
00:20:41.27\00:20:45.01
But if you do not worship,
you shall be cast immediately
00:20:45.04\00:20:48.58
into the midst of a
burning fiery furnace.
00:20:48.61\00:20:51.01
And who is that God
00:20:51.05\00:20:53.62
who will deliver
you from my hand?"
00:20:53.65\00:20:55.88
Well, that's a... that's a very
defiant statement, isn't it?
00:20:55.92\00:20:59.25
Absolutely. It's a challenge.
00:20:59.29\00:21:01.46
Yes. Your God can't do this.
00:21:01.49\00:21:05.09
You have to do
what I say. Exactly.
00:21:05.13\00:21:07.63
And so King Nebuchadnezzar
obviously loved the boys
00:21:07.66\00:21:10.67
because he gave
them a second chance,
00:21:10.70\00:21:12.07
otherwise he
would have thrown them
00:21:12.10\00:21:13.97
into the fire immediately.
00:21:14.00\00:21:15.54
But he was impressed with them.
00:21:15.57\00:21:17.57
And they had impressed
him no doubt over the time
00:21:17.61\00:21:20.58
that they had been
captive in Babylon.
00:21:20.61\00:21:23.28
And so he wanted to
give them another chance.
00:21:23.31\00:21:26.82
And so he says,
00:21:26.85\00:21:28.75
"You either turn or you burn,"
00:21:28.78\00:21:33.59
it's just... it's
just simple as that.
00:21:33.62\00:21:34.96
That's a good way of putting it.
00:21:34.99\00:21:36.32
Yes, as simple as that.
00:21:36.36\00:21:37.69
And they said, verse 16,
00:21:37.73\00:21:41.20
"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
00:21:41.23\00:21:43.77
answered and said unto the king,
00:21:43.80\00:21:45.63
'O Nebuchadnezzar,
00:21:45.67\00:21:47.07
we have no need to
answer you in this matter.'"
00:21:47.10\00:21:49.54
That simply means, look,
we don't have to have time
00:21:49.57\00:21:52.94
to consider our answer.
00:21:52.97\00:21:54.44
We've already
thought this through.
00:21:54.48\00:21:57.65
And verse 17 says,
"If that is the case,
00:21:57.68\00:22:03.49
our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us
00:22:03.52\00:22:06.52
from the burning fiery furnace,
00:22:06.55\00:22:08.86
and He will deliver us
from your hand, O king.
00:22:08.89\00:22:13.40
But if not let it be
known to you, O king,
00:22:13.43\00:22:16.87
that we will
not serve your gods,
00:22:16.90\00:22:19.37
nor will we
worship the gold image
00:22:19.40\00:22:21.80
which you have set up."
00:22:21.84\00:22:23.41
I tell you that's
courage. That's bravery.
00:22:23.44\00:22:25.97
Bravery, absolute courage.
00:22:26.01\00:22:27.44
Talking about valiant and
the Bible talks many times
00:22:27.48\00:22:30.95
about valiant people,
these guys were valiant.
00:22:30.98\00:22:34.25
Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:22:34.28\00:22:36.05
They're about to be
thrown into a fiery furnace
00:22:36.08\00:22:38.12
if they didn't
cooperate with the king.
00:22:38.15\00:22:40.22
And they basically said
00:22:40.26\00:22:42.22
we're not gonna
cooperate with you,
00:22:42.26\00:22:43.59
throw us in there and let God do
00:22:43.63\00:22:45.03
what God's gonna do.
00:22:45.06\00:22:46.70
Their decision was made
and so what happened verse 19,
00:22:46.73\00:22:49.93
"Then Nebuchadnezzar
was full of fury,"
00:22:49.96\00:22:52.40
now his jugular
really is popping up,
00:22:52.43\00:22:54.77
"and the expression on his
face changed towards Shadrach,
00:22:54.80\00:22:57.24
Meshach, and Abednego.
00:22:57.27\00:22:58.61
He spoke and commanded
that they heat the furnace
00:22:58.64\00:23:01.01
seven times more than
it was usually heated."
00:23:01.04\00:23:03.61
There's that seven again. Yes.
00:23:03.65\00:23:05.28
Perfect number.
00:23:05.31\00:23:06.65
Yes, and they used God's number.
00:23:06.68\00:23:08.02
Seven times hotter.
00:23:08.05\00:23:09.38
And so he commanded the
men and as you read the story,
00:23:09.42\00:23:13.52
the very men who threw them
00:23:13.56\00:23:15.29
into the burning fiery
furnace were destroyed.
00:23:15.32\00:23:17.33
That's how hot it was.
00:23:17.36\00:23:19.23
And they were bound
as they are thrown in,
00:23:19.26\00:23:24.07
and the fire the only thing
00:23:24.10\00:23:25.77
the fire did was
to burn off their...
00:23:25.80\00:23:29.30
The ropes. The
ropes that bound them.
00:23:29.34\00:23:32.61
And Nebuchadnezzar
looked in, he said,
00:23:32.64\00:23:35.31
"Didn't we throw three men in?"
00:23:35.34\00:23:38.58
He said, "I can see four."
00:23:38.61\00:23:40.92
And he said,
00:23:40.95\00:23:42.28
"The fourth is
like the Son of Man,"
00:23:42.32\00:23:45.52
and obviously, for
Nebuchadnezzar to know that
00:23:45.55\00:23:50.33
that must mean that
00:23:50.36\00:23:55.06
Daniel and the three men
00:23:55.10\00:23:56.56
must have given him
a very clear picture
00:23:56.60\00:23:59.33
of what God was like.
00:23:59.37\00:24:00.70
Yes.
00:24:00.74\00:24:02.07
So he recognized
the force as this
00:24:02.10\00:24:04.17
Jesus there in the fire.
00:24:04.21\00:24:09.88
And so I just wonder sometimes,
00:24:09.91\00:24:12.58
Rosemary, if you
and I've been there.
00:24:12.61\00:24:15.48
I like to think that
we will not like this,
00:24:15.52\00:24:17.65
but maybe some
of us will be there.
00:24:17.69\00:24:21.39
And we are standing there
00:24:21.42\00:24:22.76
waiting for that music to sound.
00:24:22.79\00:24:24.89
And then suddenly
the music starts up.
00:24:24.93\00:24:29.53
And we say to ourselves,
00:24:29.56\00:24:31.33
"I don't wanna get into
that burning fiery furnace,
00:24:31.37\00:24:33.13
I got a family to look after."
00:24:33.17\00:24:34.50
And everybody
else is bowing down.
00:24:34.54\00:24:35.87
Yes, and God doesn't
expect me to lose my life,
00:24:35.90\00:24:38.31
and I've got a
family to look after.
00:24:38.34\00:24:40.98
I tell you what I'm going to do,
00:24:41.01\00:24:42.84
well, I'm going to bow down,
00:24:42.88\00:24:44.41
but I'm not going
to be thinking about
00:24:44.45\00:24:45.78
that terrible image.
00:24:45.81\00:24:47.15
I'm going to be
worshiping the God of heaven.
00:24:47.18\00:24:49.32
Some of us would
have reason that way.
00:24:49.35\00:24:50.89
Yes. That's true.
00:24:50.92\00:24:52.39
I think that some of us
00:24:52.42\00:24:53.76
might have suddenly
looked down at our shoes.
00:24:53.79\00:24:57.39
And notice that our
shoe laces had come undone.
00:24:57.43\00:24:59.79
Oh.
00:24:59.83\00:25:01.16
And just at the time
when the music sounds,
00:25:01.20\00:25:03.83
I have an urge to
actually do my shoelaces up.
00:25:03.87\00:25:08.70
Now, the interesting thing
is, if that would be the way,
00:25:08.74\00:25:11.74
we would have reasoned
and I fear that many of us
00:25:11.77\00:25:14.71
would have come to
that sort of conclusion
00:25:14.74\00:25:16.88
instead of being faithful,
like, Shadrach, Meshach,
00:25:16.91\00:25:19.15
and Abednego,
00:25:19.18\00:25:20.72
that the message
would have gone out
00:25:20.75\00:25:23.32
to the Babylonian Empire
00:25:23.35\00:25:24.79
of the
superiority of Nebuchadnezzar
00:25:24.82\00:25:27.52
and his religion.
00:25:27.56\00:25:29.19
But instead of that,
I find him saying this,
00:25:29.22\00:25:32.39
28 and 29,
00:25:32.43\00:25:33.76
this is Daniel
3:28, 29, it says,
00:25:33.80\00:25:36.16
"Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying,
00:25:36.20\00:25:38.87
'Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
00:25:38.90\00:25:41.64
Meshach, and Abednego,
00:25:41.67\00:25:43.54
who sent His Angel and
to deliver His servants
00:25:43.57\00:25:45.74
who trusted in Him,
00:25:45.77\00:25:47.11
and they have
frustrated the king's word,
00:25:47.14\00:25:49.24
and yielded their bodies
that they should not serve
00:25:49.28\00:25:51.68
nor worship any god
except their own God!"
00:25:51.71\00:25:55.38
Therefore, I make a
decree that any people,
00:25:55.42\00:25:59.05
nations or language
00:25:59.09\00:26:00.42
which speaks
anything amiss against the God
00:26:00.46\00:26:02.09
of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego
00:26:02.12\00:26:04.03
shall be cut in pieces,
00:26:04.06\00:26:05.39
and their houses
shall be made an ash heap,
00:26:05.43\00:26:07.30
because there is no other
God who can deliver like this."
00:26:07.33\00:26:12.80
Oh, that sounds worse
00:26:12.83\00:26:15.20
than being thrown
into the fiery furnace.
00:26:15.24\00:26:17.51
Well, the fact are
that the message of God
00:26:17.54\00:26:20.81
went out to the
whole Babylonian Empire
00:26:20.84\00:26:23.01
because they didn't hear
any more about that image.
00:26:23.04\00:26:24.91
What happened to it,
who knows, melted down,
00:26:24.95\00:26:27.45
but all they heard about
00:26:27.48\00:26:29.08
was the decree
of Nebuchadnezzar.
00:26:29.12\00:26:31.12
And remember,
he's still a pagan king
00:26:31.15\00:26:32.79
and so he's forcing
people and we would think that
00:26:32.82\00:26:35.32
that's not quite the
best way to go about it,
00:26:35.36\00:26:37.56
but we got to understand
his, where he's coming from.
00:26:37.59\00:26:40.83
And he commands that
00:26:40.86\00:26:42.43
everybody in the
Babylonian Empire bow down
00:26:42.46\00:26:45.87
and so within a week,
00:26:45.90\00:26:49.17
we could probably
say, the message went out
00:26:49.20\00:26:51.74
to the four corners
of the Babylonian Empire,
00:26:51.77\00:26:54.28
that the God of
Shadrach, Meshach,
00:26:54.31\00:26:56.01
and Abednego is the true God.
00:26:56.04\00:26:58.61
And so, the faithful
stand of these three boys
00:26:58.65\00:27:02.25
is put up in the
Bible as an illustration
00:27:02.28\00:27:04.92
of what God wants
us in the last days
00:27:04.95\00:27:07.22
to be faithful to Him
and to His commandments.
00:27:07.26\00:27:10.79
Because that was the
issue in Daniel's day
00:27:10.83\00:27:12.63
over one of the commandments.
00:27:12.66\00:27:14.30
And Revelation tells us
it's the same in the last days,
00:27:14.33\00:27:18.57
the issue is going to
be over the commandment,
00:27:18.60\00:27:20.94
the fourth commandment...
00:27:20.97\00:27:22.30
The worship.
00:27:22.34\00:27:23.67
And worship, how we worship God
00:27:23.71\00:27:25.04
and the day we
worship on God, God,
00:27:25.07\00:27:27.14
because that's
what is outlined here.
00:27:27.18\00:27:30.15
And once again, I would appeal
00:27:30.18\00:27:31.88
to all our viewers
to be faithful to God.
00:27:31.91\00:27:35.35
And you can only
have that type of faith
00:27:35.38\00:27:37.19
if by day by day,
00:27:37.22\00:27:38.89
we have an
experience with Jesus.
00:27:38.92\00:27:41.16
That's right.
Be faithful to God.
00:27:41.19\00:27:43.09
Don't let Him down and
He will not let you down.
00:27:43.12\00:27:46.59
Thank you for joining us today.
00:27:46.63\00:27:48.33
I hope that you have
learned a valuable lesson
00:27:48.36\00:27:50.50
that you will
apply to your life.
00:27:50.53\00:27:52.53
We'll see you next time.
00:27:52.57\00:27:53.90