Fourth Quarter 2004 Adult Sabbath School Lessons:
"Daniel"

Insights to Lesson 3:
The Fiery Furnace
October 9-15

(Produced by the Editorial Board of the 1888 Message Study Committee)

A Time of Testing

The decree had gone forth. Vassal kings and dignitaries from every corner of Nebuchadnezzar’s realm had made the journey to the Plain of Dura. Calling his vassals to the capital city for a summit meeting was not unusual in a world that was dominated by a suzerain lord as powerful as Nebuchadnezzar. [Suzerainty refers to an autocratic relationship of a ruler over his people.]

Under the suzerain covenant system, all the conquered kings were required to pay tribute, provide the suzerain with armed forces when needed, defend the borders of the suzerain’s domain, and appear before the suzerain whenever ordered to do so. Any hint of rebellion was dealt a swift and severe punishment. The suzerain knew that mercy shown to a rebel would be perceived as weakness and possibly result in more insurrection among his vassals.

This particular summit conference was called for the express purpose of declaring Nebuchadnezzar as the most high sovereign, the highest authority in the world, to whom all would pay homage or die. The Bible relates that there were probably hundreds of men from all over the world gathered together for the express purpose of worshiping an enormous golden replica of the image Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream (chapter 2). It had been 23 years since Nebuchadnezzar had this dream and its interpretation was given to Daniel.

During this time, Nebuchadnezzar had ample opportunity to observe the characters of the four young Hebrew men who were involved in the mysterious dream incident. He witnessed their unswerving integrity in all areas of life, and their faithfulness to him as their worldly sovereign in all the governmental affairs that were entrusted to them. They served their worldly master as faithfully as possible in so far as it did not interfere with their obligations to God. Their demonstrated incorruptibility proved their faith in God and honored their heavenly Master as Lord of all. Nebuchadnezzar no doubt had developed tremendous trust in these four men.

When Daniel gave him the interpretation of his dream 23 years before, Nebuchadnezzar had declared: “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings.” However, the grammatical article he used indicated that he only accepted Yahweh as one God among many gods, rather than THE sovereign Lord of the universe. Such an admission preserved some semblance of authority for himself as the “most high” sovereign on earth who was lord of kings and considered by his subjects to be a god.

Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogant claims echo those of Lucifer when he demanded equal status with the Son of God (Isa. 14:12-15). Just as Lucifer was to be “brought down to the sides of the pit” by his haughty defiance of God, so too would Nebuchadnezzar see humiliation. And so will all who remain in rebellion against God’s claims on them as their sovereign Lord.

Thus was the scene set for a showdown on the Plain of Dura between the one true God and a mere man who thought he was God, and who thought he could completely control men’s lives and coerce men’s consciences. Through Nebuchadnezzar (as previously through Pharaoh), Satan was challenging the Monarch of the universe. When a civil power enforces prescribed worship practices, then men’s consciences are no longer free. From the beginning of time this attempt to coerce and control men’s minds through tyranny has been a demonstration of Satan’s way, not God’s.

As the men assembled themselves on the plain before the huge idol Nebuchadnezzar had set up, there were three who had talked among themselves and decided that honoring the Majesty of heaven was more important than honoring any human potentate. Their faith in God’s power to protect them and provide for them had already been established. They knew the promise in Isaiah 43:2. Declaring that they would stand on the side of right even if it cost them their lives, these three Hebrew men exemplify what God is searching for in these last days.

A true heart appreciation of the cost of salvation will empower the believer to stand the fiery trials that await us as we approach the closing scenes of this earth’s history. When we face the “time of trouble such as never was,” only a faith that has been tested under the most severe temptations will endure until the end. The good news is, we don’t have to hunt for it or create it ourselves; there already is such a faith and it is a free gift from God (Rom. 12:3).

Jesus is urging us to realize our tremendous need of this faith—His faith (Rev. 3:18). It alone will enable us to develop total dependence upon God for power to overcome all the “fiery darts” of the devil. This faith keeps constantly before us the truth that “we have nothing and are nothing, and that He has everything and is everything and gives everything,” which is the foundation of the new covenant truth of Christ and His righteousness (see The Glad Tidings, p. 71).

The story in Daniel chapter three demonstrates for us how this faith works. When the music began to play, all the men fell on their faces. All except the three men who knew from personal experience what it means to be “righteous by faith.” Yes, they could have bowed down pretending to tie their shoelaces, but this would have been a lie and would have exhibited a lack of appreciation for all that God had done for them in the past to preserve and protect them. And it would have been a faithless response to the situation facing them, denying God’s power to deliver on His promise of eternal salvation. Anyone who seeks to save his life through compromise will surely lose it (Mark 8:34-38).

The message of Christ and His righteousness sent by God to His remnant people in 1888 was meant to prepare us for a trial just like the one experienced by these three Hebrew men. When A.T. Jones faced the United States Congress to overturn the Blair Bill, he recognized that “if Congress can interpret the Bible in one point, it can interpret it on every other point” (1893 General Conference Bulletin, p. 51; original pagination).

Elder Jones presented before the assembled brethren the nearness of the work of the fourth angel of Revelation 18. “Can a man, of himself, stand successfully against all the power of the earth? No, sir. Well, then, are we not shut up to this, that we must have a power working for us that is greater than all the power of the earth put together? Is it not time then, that that angel should come down from heaven having great power? That angel coming down and adding his voice to the other makes the loud cry.” (Ibid., p. 72; emphasis in original).

“Are you living day by day, and hour by hour, in the presence of that terrible fact that it is time for God Himself to work, if His integrity is going to be maintained to all the world? It is a terrible fact; it is a fearful position. It brings us to the point of such consecration as not a soul of us ever dreamed of before; unto the place of such consecration, of such devotion, as will hold ourselves in the presence of God, with that fearful thought that ‘It is time for thee, Lord, to work, for they have made void thy law.’”

“. . . ‘Something great and decisive is to take place, and that right early. If any delay, the character of God and His throne will be compromised.’ Brethren, by our careless, indifferent attitude, we are putting God’s throne in jeopardy. . . . Is it possible that we are about to risk the honor of God’s throne? Brethren, for the Lord’s sake, and for His throne’s sake, let us get out of the way. Let us get out of the way. The only way to get out of the way of God is to flee to Him. That is the only way to get out of His way, and that is where He calls us now.” (Ibid., p. 73-74).

Like the three Hebrews on the Plain of Dura, we will only be able to endure that imminent test if we have learned the lessons of faith in God’s power to deliver us from every temptation and to preserve us through every trial. God is searching for those of whom He can declare: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12).

The 1888 message of Christ and His righteousness is the preparation provided by God for His people to enable us to endure the “time of trouble” and come through victorious, vindicating His claims that through faith in Him man can overcome all sin. When the fountainhead of sin in the lives and hearts of God’s people is finally conquered, then and then alone can the heavenly sanctuary be cleansed from all the sin and transgression that has been flowing into it. When this is completed, then Christ will return to gather His people and take us home (see A. T. Jones, The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, chapter 15).

Is it not time for us to believe this precious good news; to fully surrender ourselves to God? To have that consecration and devotion toward God that will prepare us to stand the trial that we very soon will face? Let us determine to get out of God’s way so that He can finish His work in us and in the world.

—Ann Walper

Read the study notes for lesson 4