Daniel Chapter 3 Verse 1

• Man this is crazy! Just 4 verses ago we read, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The King then said to Daniel, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings…””
• And while there certainly is debate and discussion regarding just how long a period of time has passed between chapters 2 and 3, it doesn’t really matter. The beginning of Chapter 3 is proof that folks can be well impressed with God…on their faces proclaiming His glory and yet never stop exalting self! I wonder is this me? Do I do this? These are hard questions. Questions I’d rather not ask for fear of what I may have to answer after looking at my life, how I act, how or why I serve…but man I demand these questions of myself…because Nebuchadnezzar is no more sinful than I…and my heart is to halt the construction of self exalting images in the planning stages man…
• Now this image, it’s interesting, Daniel gives us the dimensions but he doesn’t give us the shape. We assume this is an image of Nebuchadnezzar but the scripture doesn’t come out and say that…what is said is simply that this is an image of gold that he has set up. Now we do know that this image is some sort of image of self exaltation because it’s not exalting God, we’ll see that shortly.
• And what is even more disturbing is that it is entirely gold. May not be pure gold, it may be wood covered in gold which was common at that time but nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar making this image of gold from top to bottom is a clear act of open defiance against the vision God showed him. Remember? Only the head was gold in the statue we saw in Chapter 2 and that head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, remember? Yet it’s chest and arms were of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, feet of partly clay and partly iron…all representative of nations, empires that would arise after his own…yet Nebuchadnezzar…it’s like he’s saying, “nope, the gold will prevail. The day of my reign and authority will never end…”
• What’s the point, Matt? In his pride and self-exaltation, he contradicts God…oh man how we do this…do we have the heart to realize this and humble ourselves? Pride and emotional self defense and self-centered thought and egotistical argument…never…never glorifies God. Doesn’t matter the circumstance. Doesn’t matter the justification…its sin man because that moment is contradictory to God’s Word man and only destruction will come of it!
• Argue in front of the cross. Plead your case in front of the crucified Savior…would you do it there? Then are you really justified in doing it at work? Doing it at home? If your answer is, “well sometimes…” then you’re double minded, double tongued, in one moment blessing our God and Father and in another cursing men…James says in James Chapter 3, “these things ought not to be so. Can a fig tree bear olives? You sure you’re what you think you are?”
• Nebuchadnezzar at this point is not a believer. I don’t care what he said at the end of Chapter 2. Check his fruit. He is a make-believer. And so he sets up this image of gold. 90 feet high, 9 feet wide…

Daniel Chapter 3 Verses 2 – 5

• Now this is interesting. He goes and calls the people together. A great multitude of nobles and a herald cries out, “we’re gonna play some music, and when we do, worship this image.” The Bible speaks of the enemy as the, “prince of the power of the air,” (Ephesians 2:2) and what goes out over air waves? Media. The television programs, the Sirius Satellite Radio, even the old school AM/FM radio, these things bring media to your eyes and ears over the air…and the majority of it is this music…
• Fall down, worship this idol man…Even all the way back here, hundreds of years B.C., Nebuchadezzar, the enemy, media…prompting false worship. But where did it all begin? The Garden man! The snake spoke didn’t he? Sound waves traveling through…the air…nothing new under the sun is there?

Daniel Chapter 3 Verses 6 – 7

• All the people, nations and languages fell down…my how we are seeing that today. Folks falling down and worshipping ridiculous idols…from gold to self gratification to ego to Satan himself…folks fall and they fall easy man…that’s the thing. Someone once said, “you better stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything…” and there is some truth in that. (Greatly depends on what you stand for of course) We’ll see in just a moment there were three there that did not fall. Three that we know.
• But notice. What kind of worship is this? It’s forced worship. Yet, get this.   It’s still worship! Nevertheless, worship it is. So often we rationalize our carnality. Carnality, being in the flesh, is simply worship of self…and since we are nothing but dust, not even able to receive worship, carnality and being in the flesh, is actually obedience to Satan, worship going his way. And so often we rationalize our carnality, our flesh.
• Well, I’m like this because of my living situation. Or I act this way because of how I am treated. Or you know what, I just have to do this for another week, another day, another year, another another and then I’ll get out of it…this relationship I’m in, this circumstance that I’m in, this thing that I do that is contrary to God’s Word…man you’re face down in front of a lifeless idol! Forced worship is still worship man…and tell me what you want, the choice of who you worship or what you worship is yours and yours alone…
• “Rationalize carnality”…in and of itself is an oxymoron because sin is not rational! HA! It is always the irrational decision in light of truth and holiness!
• And this scripture set ties us very closely to Revelation doesn’t it? Nebuchadnezzar, a type and picture of the Antichrist himself. Why? Because we saw this in our verse by verse study through Revelation right? Revelation Chapter 13 verses 14 – 15. This is precisely what the Antichrist, the Beast and the False Prophet do but notice, there were 144,000, Jews, undefiled, marked with the mark of God, that did not bow down to the image of the beast and they survived the Great Tribulation…could the three we are about to see be a type of them? Of course! Check this out…

Daniel Chapter 3 Verses 8 – 12

• There they are! Daniel’s clique! Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego! They won’t eat the king’s meat, they won’t worship some false god even if “forced…,” and the haters who were on their face (peeking apparently) go and tattle tale!
• Notice parallel between this historical event and an event yet to come. Daniel Chapter 3 and Revelation 13. The type of the Antichrist, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Antichrist setting up these images and demanding them to be worshipped under the threat of death. We see the three here, a clear parallel to the 144,000 Jews that are Tribulation superheroes…but where’s Daniel? Nebuchadnezzar invited all the nobles man…Daniel was ruler over the entire province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all of the nobles!! He sat in the very gate of the king! So what it do man!?
• Where is he? Not mentioned anywhere in Chapter 3…the answer…he’s gone! Obvious, clear answer! Simple oh so simple! He is NOT THERE! Whether he is away on business or on travel or on vacation or whatever…doesn’t matter…the clear and correct answer…he’s gone! A clear, simply, practical, awesome, parallel and type of who in the Great Tribulation? You got it! THE CHURCH! So cool!
• Just a few more things to see and then we’re through…

Daniel Chapter 3 Verses 13 – 15

• This dude is out of his mind. “If you fall down and worship the image which I have made, GOOD!??!??!??” Good!? You’ve got to be joking me! Terrible! Maybe good in the moment. Gets Nebuchadnezzar off their backs. Makes the Chaldeans happy. Appeases and makes peace with the satraps, administrators, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all of the officials…yet betrays Jesus! Betrays God! And yet the world calls that “good?” You betcha!
• Jesus said, “why do you call Me good…there is only One that is good and that is God.” You see folks, if it is not to the glory, honor and fame of God…then it ain’t good and man in swallowing the lie, drinking the kool-aid that the end justifies the means…that making folks like you, having peace with the world, if you consider that good then you need to wake up. Jesus was a non-conforming, Father pleasing individual, and when none go with you, will you still follow? When they call you hater because you do not desire to please them, but to please God…when they say all types of evil against you and ultimately seek your life…will you still follow? Or will you simply “do good,” in the approval of the world type of good…fools seek to conform to fools, Jesus and His followers desire to free them man…
• And it’s crazy to me…Nebuchadnezzar says here, “who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” What foolishness. What caused him to forget a powerful experience (Chapter 2)? What caused him to grow dull and stupid? Self-exaltation! Contrast that with the powerful response from these three…

Daniel Chapter 3 Verses 16 – 18

• Hey king, our God is able man…not only to deliver us from the threat, but even from you man...and we’re like, “yea!” Eye of the Tiger playing in the background, a little shadow-boxing, we’re pumped…and then we hear, “but if not…” Whoa! Stop the record for a minute DJ, Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego…what are you talking about? But if not? We don’t want to hear that. And they would respond…not our will, but God’s will is what we’re after…And so they turn back to Nebuchadnezzar…”but if not, we will not serve, we will not bow down, we will not worship any other than the One true God…!”
• And BOOM, EYE OF THE TIGER blasts from heaven man! That is real power. These three are unstoppable. Why? Because God accomplishes their will and so they are happy little Christians? No, because they are believers man…they trust God even unto death man…this is the only type that will not fall when forced worship shows up…when the day is hard, when the people are hard, when the shame and the tattling ensue, when there is no peace to be found with the world and we are uncomfortable and unhappy…this is the only type that will stand for Jesus man…
• I hear all the time man of folks allowing things in their lives that are contrary to the Word of God. Desperate Housewives, Pretty Little Liars, Real Wives of Wherever…those ridiculously sinful shows and Christians popping their popcorn…kids disrespecting their parents, husbands not loving their wives, wives not loving their husbands, employees not serving their co-workers, folks speaking evil of dignitaries…its sin man…yet the music blows, the furnace heats up, the image shines and they fall on their faces…come on man…is this your voice? “We do not serve your gods, nor will we worship any other…?”
• Next week we’ll see that that were indeed thrown into the furnace but read ahead and watch what God does…the impossible!