In the book of Daniel, chapter
3, is the story of a heathen king named Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, who set up an image, a golden image, for all the people
to worship. Now Nebuchadnezzar here represents
the God of this world, or Satan, whom the Lord said has men in
captivity, who does his will here on this earth. Well, Babylon
also represents false religion. throughout the book of the Revelation,
Babylon is spoken of as the seat of Satan or that is religion
where Satan does most of his work. I read to you from Daniel
3 beginning with verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold
whose height was three score cubits and breadth thereof six
cubits. He set it up in the plain of
Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
sent to gather together the princes, the rulers, the governors, captains,
judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, all the rulers of the
provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar
the king set up. So the princes, the governors,
the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the
sheriffs, all the rulers of provinces were gathered together under
the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up.
And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar set up. In
other words, everybody who was anybody, all the kings, the rulers,
the sheriffs, those who were the most notable people in all
the town, the city, Babylon, came to worship this image. Read on. Verse 4, it says, "...a
herald cried aloud. Someone stood up and said, O
people and nations and languages, when you hear the sound of the
cornet, the flute, the harp, the segment, the psaltery, the
dulcimer, and all kinds of music. So in other words, they had a
big band playing, lots of music. That brought a lot of people
in. Yea, the whole town came in together. And they said, Fall
down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
set up. And whoso falleth not down, whoever
doesn't fall down and worship, shall be cast into the midst
of the fiery furnace. So when you hear the sound of
the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and all kinds of
music, All the people, nations and languages, they came and
they fell and worshipped the image Nebuchadnezzar the king
had set up. What is this image that he set
up? Well, it was the image of a man. The image of a man. And everyone came and fell down
and worshipped the image of a man. Now in Romans chapter 1 it says
of mankind. All mankind, by nature it says,
that which is known of God is manifest to them. It says, the
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness. It says, the invisible things
of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, things
that are made, His eternal power and Godhead is clearly seen and
known by all, and they are without excuse. But, he goes on to say,
When they knew God, or that is, saw something of His eternal
power and Godhead, the Creator, the Potter, we're the clay, they
glorified Him not as God, weren't thankful, they became vain in
their imagination, their foolish heart was darkened, professing
themselves to be wise. That is, they're all a bunch
of educated people, they all go to school and so forth, but
he said they're fools. because they change the glory
of the uncorruptible God. What is His glory? It's His power. It's His Godhead. It's His will. It's His work. It's His creation.
It's His sovereign power. It says they change the glory
of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
man. They change the glory of God
into an image of a man. The image that Nebuchadnezzar
set up, the image which Satan set up, it began in the garden
when he told the man and the woman, you'll be like God. Exercise
your free choice, your free will. The image that man worships,
which Satan, as Nebuchadnezzar did, set up before all mankind
is free will, man's free will. You have a choice. You have a
will. That's what man believes, that
he has free will. But God says, I am that I am. That means He's self-existent,
independent, absolute sovereign ruler and controller of all things. He says, I will. Scripture says,
He worketh all things after the counsel of His will. Whoever has free will is God. Whoever has free will is God. Listen to Daniel 4 verse 17. I read, this matter, that is
the truth, is by decree of the watchers. Who's that? That's
the prophets. And by demand of the word of
the Holy One. That's God's word. 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. He will. In Daniel 4.35 it says
that He worketh all things after the counsel of His will in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. Man
doesn't have a free will. He has a want to. He doesn't
have a free will. We are told to pray. If God will. This is James chapter 4. Listen. Go to now, James 4 verse 13,
you that say, tomorrow we will go into the city and continue
there and buy and sell and get gain. And he says, you know not
what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? It's even
a vapor that appears for a little time and vanishes away. You ought
to say, if the Lord will. We shall live and do this or
that. But now, he says, you rejoice
in your boasting, and all such rejoicing is evil. All talk of man's free will is
evil. We're told to pray, Thy will
be done. It is. It shall. It has. It is. It shall be done. God's
will. They say, here's what these soothsayers
and these prophets for hire, P-R-O-F-I-T, they say, let God
be God. Let God have His way. Choose
God. Let Him. You can be saved if
you will. It's all wrong. All wrong. God says in Isaiah 43, I will
work and who shall let me do anything. That's the God of the
Bible. Well, there were three Hebrew
men, three chosen men, three elect Hebrew children of God,
whom God revealed Himself to, whom God gave this precious gift
of true saving faith, who did not, who would not worship this
idol, but worship a living and true God. Their names, three
Hebrew children. were Hananiah, Mashael, and Azariah. Most people, even so-called Christians,
know them only as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That was the Chaldean
names given to them by these heathen pagan people, and those
names mean nothing. But they're true names given
them by God. They had the name of God. Each
of them bore the name of God because they were God's children.
Hananiah means Jehovah favored, that is, saved by grace. Mashael
means whose is God, that is, they knew who God is. And Azariah,
which means the Lord has helped, the Lord our Savior. These three
Hebrew children, these three Hebrew men, were the few chosen
out of a vast majority who would not bow to man who would not
bow to the image set up by Nebuchadnezzar, that pagan king. And so they
threatened them. In Daniel 3, there are certain
Jews, certain ones, O king, I have not regarded thee or served thy
gods. They won't worship this golden
image you've set up. They bow to, they worship, they
only believe in God. His will be done. And so they
won't worship with us. They won't join with us. And
so the decree came to cast them into a burning, fiery furnace. That was the decree. Cast them
into a burning, fiery furnace. People, listen to me carefully.
Oh, the divine irony here, the profound irony here. In the Revelation,
the image is spoken of. The image of the beast is spoken
of eight times from chapter 13 through chapter 20. And it says,
everyone who worships this beast shall indeed be cast into the
fire, cast into the lake of fire by God, all who worship the image
of the beast, which is man-centered religion, free will religion. which Babylon represents, which
Satan, the seed of Satan is there. Man, the worship of man, his
will, his works, his glory, his honor. But God says, I am the
Lord. My glory will I not share with
another. The glory of his sovereign power,
his sovereign choice, his sovereign will, his work, his blood, his
righteousness, not man. And the irony is, God shall indeed
cast all into a fiery furnace who worship the beast, who worship
man, who do not worship Him and His Son. Well, these three Hebrew
men were threatened. And the Lord told His disciples
and all who truly believe Him, You shall be hated by all men
for My name's sake. His name is Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, that means He's God. You
don't let Him be God. He is God. His name is Jesus. Same name as Joshua. Nobody let
Joshua do anything. Joshua came into town and took
it. He saw. He conquered. That's
His name. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people. Chosen. given to Him by God from
their sin. He shall do it by Himself. He
won't ask them to let Him. He'll do it. They don't cooperate. He makes them willing in the
day of His power. Christ is His name. Christ, the
only Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, not
Mary. Not any dead saints. Christ. He's the only one. The only way. The only truth. The only life.
Simon Peter said, it'll be a fiery trial that you'll endure. You'll
be cast into the fiery furnace of persecution and affliction
for believing only one way. Jesus Christ. Salvation of the
Lord. Not man's will. God's will. Not man's works. Christ's work. Not man's anything. But Christ
is all. Because man is nothing. And it's
all for His glory, to the praise of the glory of His sovereign
grace. Well, these three Hebrews were
thrown into that fiery furnace. They wouldn't meet with this
county-wide meeting where everybody got together. Oh, no. They would
only worship the living God. They said, we are not careful.
We don't have to think about it. If we're thrown into the
fiery furnace, our God will be with us." And so He was. They
threw these three into the fiery furnace, and Nebuchadnezzar looked
into the furnace, and he was astonished. And it says, didn't
we cast three men in the furnace? And he said, I see four men,
loose. These three Hebrews cast into
the furnace, and who was waiting on them? The Lord Jesus Christ
was in that furnace with them. And they came out, but he stayed
in. And that's a picture of Christ
crucified. Christ who died for the sins
of His people. And He said, you shall be hated,
you shall go through a fiery trial for My sake, but I'll be
with you, I'll bring you out. None of God's people will worship
a false god, but they worship the living and true God. Turn
from their idols to worship the living and true God, Christ the
Lord. How about you? May God reveal
Himself to you is my prayer. Amen.