King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, September 14, 2025
Chapters: Daniel 3-5
Message: Daniel: The Fiery Furnace
Hello My Friend,
I was listening to a man confess as to what I imagine much of the world believes but are not brave enough to say it, that he could not understand why anyone would put their lives in danger for their faith in God. He admitted that he was afraid of what he did not understand and I believe that if more people would just admit that then they will be more open to accepting Christ. As we continue in the reading of Daniel we learn that God’s faithful are often put through the fire to challenge their faith. However, we are to never fear them.
[Matthew 10:28-33 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.]
Nebuchadnezzar, is feeling pretty proud about all his accomplishments in not only taking over Jerusalem, but becoming the leader of so many provinces. So what does he do to celebrate his success? He has a giant golden statute of himself made. While this was not something unheard of as many leaders have statutes of themselves made, what was unheard of was what he wanted the people to do.
[Daniel 3:1-2,4-6 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.]
In other words, whenever they hear this loud music playing, every person was to stop what they were doing turn toward the statue, then fall down on their knees and worship it. Oh, and if they did not comply, then it will be to their own peril. Now, there were some Chaldean’s who did not like that some of the Jews were working among them so when they discovered that they were not worshiping the statute once the music played they were all too willing to go to the king.
[Daniel 3:8-9,12-14 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?]
They may not be golden statues that we as Christians are being commanded to bow down to, but we are definitely commanded to bow down to the gods that corrupt politicians and government leaders have created. This is where we need to make a choice, are we going to stand by our faith in God, even if it means we lose our life or are we going to cave in to their demands? Well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in all honesty could not stand before Nebuchadnezzar and say that they would bow down and worship this statue.
[Daniel 3:16-19 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.]
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were careful in their words, they knew that unless they bowed down to this statue no other answer would have been acceptable. However, they also knew their God and even if they died in that furnace they rather die in their faith than deny God. Well, the last thing that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to hear was that they not only would not bow to these gods he created, but only worshiped their God. Remember, Nebuchadnezzar had a great deal of respect for these men as they were a part of Daniel’s crew, but after hearing that they would not worship his gods, his respect turned into rage.
[Daniel 3:21-25 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.]
I have been around huge ovens that went up to a thousand degrees Fahrenheit and as soon as you opened the door there was a gush of heat that could take your breath away so I can only imagine how hot this was as to burn up anyone who got near it. And just imagine what the people in hell are feeling right now? Do not let the world fool you, they are well aware that the Son of God exists, and there are really only two reasons as to why they do not come to Him, the first one being pride and the second one being fear. Unfortunately, fear will send many people to hell, not because they were not aware of Christ, but because they did not understand and feared learning the truth, [Revelation 21:7-8 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.]
This is proof that, Jesus is, was, and always will be revealed as the Son of God to those who truly believe in Him, and every hair of every saved, born again Christian is numbered, even the ones that have fallen off our heads. Well, at that point the only thing that Nebuchadnezzar could do was praise God for keeping them alive in there and let them continue to worship God.
[Daniel 3:26-28 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.]
Nebuchadnezzar, was well aware of God, and even praised Him as being the God above all gods, but he never acknowledged Him as his God, his pride being the one thing that kept him from doing that. God, was about to show him just how much his pride would be his fall, God gave him another dream, and he knew that Daniel was only one person in the kingdom that could help him interpret the dream.
[Daniel 4:1-5 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 2 I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. 3 How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. 4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.]
Nebuchadnezzar, was just like the rest of the world who has some belief in God, believe that all religions and beliefs in a higher power leads to the same path. Well, that is actually the biggest form of deception from the devil himself and sooner or later all will come to understand that there is only one way to heaven and only ONE GOD who happens to be in the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, [1 John 5:6-7 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.]
Remember, it was God who used Nebuchadnezzar to judge Judah, not destroy them, and in fact, He sent judgment upon all the nations that had any connection with Israel, and Nebuchadnezzar was well aware of that as well. Unlike the first dream, Nebuchadnezzar actually remembered this one in great detail.
[Daniel 4:8-11,13 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, 9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. 10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. 11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: 13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;]
A watcher and a holy one, now, who do you suppose they were? They were likely angels. God, has His angels watching over everything that is going on, He actually assigns angels for duties that we would never think of, and yet their sole job is to await for the command from God to do whatever it is that He had purposed them for, [Psalms 103:19-21 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. 20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.]
Now, Nebuchadnezzar goes in to describe the dream as a tree that once flourished gets cut down to its stump, [Daniel 4:14-17 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: 15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: 16 Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. 17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.]
The weird thing about this dream is that it is obviously God sending him a message that he seems to be oblivious about. And while this is referring to Nebuchadnezzar as he will turn into a wild animal, the stump is a reminder that while any saved, born again Christian can fall into an abyss of sin but because they are rooted in Christ they cannot fall away from Him completely. Oh, they will get chastened, but nothing can remove them from the Root or the Vine, [John 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.]
Now, when Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel this dream, Daniel was quite disturbed by it, in fact, he would not tell him what the dream meant for an hour. Nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar, pressed him and he finally revealed to him that he was going to turn into an animal and for seven years live out in a field.
[Daniel 4:19-20,22,26 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. 26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.]
The world may think that they are in control, Satan, may think that he has the world under his control, he knows that he can do nothing without God’s permission. Now, it is important to understand that Satan has just as much freewill as we do so if he gets an inch from God you can be sure that he is going to take the mile, which is why he often goes to the extreme as he did with Job, [Job 2:4-6 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.]
Do you see how Satan is allowed to oppress us, but cannot have our soul? None of what is going on in the world today is the will of God, in fact, it is the will of a bunch of wicked, privileged, proud, spoiled brats, who never got taught the value of life, what it means to work for something, nor the consequence of their reckless actions. God, does not mess with ones ability to choose good or evil, that is a choice that we must make, any evil that befalls us by those choices will overtake us unless we as a nation return to Christ and repent. Nebuchadnezzar learned that the hard way as one year later he turned into that animal in his dream.
[Daniel 4:30-32 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.]
Nebuchadnezzar, was probably diligent for a while, but he either forgot about the dream or thought to himself that it was just a crazy dream and that nothing would come of it. Notice what he said that made God follow through with what He said, [I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty]. It was when Nebuchadnezzar became full of so much pride and conceit, proclaiming that he deserved honor for what he had done that God turned him into the animal that he became in his pride. And let me tell you, pride can turn anyone into a monster, [Proverbs 14:2-3 He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. 3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.]
The purpose of the God punishing him by such a humiliating state was to bring him to a realization that he was not the source of his success. Humility, is the best form of repentance to those who truly come to the realization that there is only one God, and that He is the one in control and no one can tell him otherwise.
[Daniel 4:34-35,37 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.]
There was no doubt that even though Nebuchadnezzar was not in his right state of mind, he certainly was able to think about all that was going on and that is why it took him seven years to figure it out. Can you imagine being in a state to where you only have your thoughts and cannot communicate with anyone? I think about my mother and her state right now, all she does is just hide in her thoughts, but she still knows that Christ is her Saviour. In a sense, Nebuchadnezzar is saying, “You cannot beat God so you might as well join Him.” and that is my sentiments exactly, [2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.]
Apparently, Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony did not convince his son that he ought to repent, he too will discover that God is in control of all things. When his grandson, Belshazzar, reigned as king, you would have thought that he would have recognized God, but he denied Him, even took the cups from the temple and began using them and worshiping their gods with them.
[Daniel 5:2-5 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. 5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.]
Why he thought that it was a good thing to do this is beyond reason, but talk about digging your own grave. Of course, he was drunk so that in itself was part of the reason why he became so bold as to do something so ridiculous, but then he went and encouraged the others to do the same thing. Did not these fools see what happened to Nebuchadnezzar? Well, just as these fools were drinking it up to their gods something out of a horror film happened, a hand appeared and began writing something on the wall.
[Daniel 5:6-8 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 8 Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.]
In other words, he was scared to death, so much so that his knees were literally knocking together. Let me tell you, you do not and cannot understand the power of God until you face a dangerous situation. That is when many do turn to God for answers, or I should say someone who knows God. And of course, they first tried to get answers from the fortune tellers and when that did not work the queen told him about Daniel.
[Daniel 5:10-11,13 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; 13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?]
Seriously, were these people so blind that they did not know what happened some eighteen to twenty years ago? And unlike, his grandfather who saw the writing on the wall so to speak, there was no sign that this king repented. Daniel, reminded him of what happened to his father, and that he was well aware of what happened and even reminded him of the dumbest thing that he ever did.
[Daniel 5:16-18,20,22 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: 22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;]
You see, they were not ignorant to what happened when Nebuchadnezzar was turned into an animal. However, unlike Nebuchadnezzar’s pride led to his fall and repentance, Belshazzar’s did not, in fact he was even more in danger because he was not at all remorseful of what he had done. And no sooner that Daniel told Belshazzar what the writing on the wall meant, he was captured by and killed.
[Daniel 5:24-31 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.]
And this is where God’s mercy runs out. These are people who are well aware of the testimonies of those who got saved, yet refuse to humble themselves and turn to Him. God, gave His Word to His believers so that they could have something to show them how to worship Him His way, and what happens to those who do not, [Hebrews 4:2-3 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.]
Today’s Prayer: God, With all the things that are going on today, it is comforting to know that Your Son is in the midst of the fire with Your people. I have chosen, and still choose You to serve and will not bow down to any god. All of the things we go through, whether it is easy or difficult, are used to give You honor and glory, and as long as our spirit is right with You, and we are faithful to You, we will prosper, and receive even more than we even imagined. Lord, lead us and guide us, keep us humble, if we get too boastful remind us that You also take if we forget that You are the source of all our blessings. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
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God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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