The Fiery Furnace

I recently listened to a teaching, and to make his point, the pastor referenced Daniel 3, where we read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to worship the golden image created by King Nebuchadnezzar, who commanded everyone to worship it. King Nebuchadnezzar declared that anyone who does not fall down and worship the idol will be thrown into a blazing furnace. As a result of their refusal to worship the golden image, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into the fiery furnace.

Daniel 3:17-18 says, 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.

Every teacher or pastor I have heard speak about this always conveys the same message based on these verses. However, I began to question it because, after all these years of living, I realized that what I was taught did not sound right, and frankly, it made God seem temperamental and untrustworthy. I know God’s Word does not contradict itself, so I needed to learn more to understand it better.

What I was taught was always explained as though Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, “Even if we are thrown in the fiery furnace and even if God doesn’t rescue us, we will never bow down to your image.” The pastor I was listening to most recently said it that way and went on to add, “The story worked out well for them, but it doesn’t always work out that way because there are plenty of people around the world who have lost their lives because they defied the order of the king because they feared God more than the king.” To be fair, he did add that the people who lost their lives, “Went on to their glorious reward.” Still, it implies that God did not rescue people who lost their lives. Going on to their “glorious reward,” or simply put – dying, does not mean the battle was lost. Their physical bodies just ceased to exist.

We need to break down the statement, “Even if we are thrown in the fiery furnace and even if God doesn’t rescue us, we will never bow down to your image.” Different teachers and pastors may say it in various ways but the message they send is always the same. If they are thrown into the fire, God is able to rescue them, but if God does not rescue them, they still won’t bow down to the image. They equate being rescued to continuing to live in the physical body.

I thought…If God doesn’t rescue them, of course they still won’t bow down…they would be dead. How does that make sense?

Consider understanding it this way. “If you choose to throw us into the fiery furnace, our God IS ABLE to deliver us from the fiery furnace and He WILL deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if you choose to not throw us into the fiery furnace, be it known that we will never bow down to your image.” Do you see the difference?

I questioned one Bible teacher about this, and he is the only person who helped me to break it down and understand it properly. Basically, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are saying, “Our God is able and will deliver us whether that means He will bring us out of the fiery furnace unscathed, or if we part ways with our physical bodies. We are good with it either way. If you decide not to throw us into the fiery furnace, that’s cool too. The bottom line is that however this plays out, we will not bow down to your image.”

I realized that part of the problem is the way we have been programmed to view death as defeat or as God failing us, while at the same time shouting, “Yes and Amen,” when a pastor proclaims, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” So let me get this straight: it sounds like we want heaven, but we are scared to die. Somebody, please explain to me how that is supposed to work out. My best guess is that although no one knows the day or hour of Jesus’ return, rather than finding peace with death, some Christians are secretly hoping for a pre-tribulation rapture, not knowing that they have been taught incorrectly. The Bible says nothing about a pre-tribulation rapture…but I digress.

I do not want to get off-topic, but I want to be clear. Please consider setting aside everything you have been taught and do an in-depth study, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you. If you have already studied this topic and still believe in a pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation rapture, I encourage you to study again without the influence of your previous beliefs. There are several resources available. One helpful video is titled, “The Rapture Debunked in 3 Questions | What God Teaches About His Protection and the Tribulation” by Tomorrow’s World, which is available on YouTube.

Okay, back to my original topic. I want to live a long, healthy life doing the work God placed me here to do, but I have come to understand that true followers of Christ absolutely cannot fear the death of our physical bodies. For those of us in the U.S. and similar countries, we have enjoyed the freedom to practice our faith, but this will not always be the case. Whether the time comes while we are alive or not, we must live with this consideration and ask ourselves, “Am I willing to sacrifice my life in this body for Christ?” At present, we have only faced isolated incidents where Christians or followers of Christ have been killed. In many other countries, Christians and followers of Christ have long been persecuted, most recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 70 Christians were beheaded. Seventy individuals who lived in a country where, as of 2021, an estimated 95.4% of the population identified as Christians.

A question presented by the teacher I was listening to was, “When is civil disobedience acceptable to God?” His answer was, “When man’s law or authority contradicts the higher law or authority of God.” One example he referred to was when the family that owns Hobby Lobby was willing to risk losing their business because of the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act that allowed specific forms of birth control that Hobby Lobby’s owners believe constitute an abortion. Their case went to the Supreme Court, and they won. If they had lost, they would have been faced with complex decisions that could have led to closing the business altogether to avoid conforming to the mandate.

You may think the worst-case scenario is that they could sell their business for millions of dollars and the family would remain comfortable and very wealthy either way. I get it. Most of us would never find ourselves in this type of scenario.

Consider it on a smaller individual scale. If you are a Christian or a follower of Christ, think of your current workplace. Can you speak freely of your faith and share it with everyone, or do you have to turn down the volume or mute your Jesus talk altogether if you want to continue receiving your paycheck? Are you compromising what is acceptable to God for what is acceptable to your employer? Do you excuse it by saying, “God knows my heart” so you can feel better about your choices? When you feel that nudge from the Holy Spirit letting you know it is time for you to make some decisions regarding who you will love with your entire heart, will you ignore it? For how long and at what cost? Are you willing to leave or risk losing that job because of your walk with Christ? Are you willing to risk losing your life because of your walk with Christ? There may come a time when you are faced with this. Following Christ means that putting on the very nature of Christ is part of the assignment, and there will be persecution for doing so.

I am not an alarmist. Again, no one knows the day or the hour, but we must discern the times we are in. In the meantime, another day is going by. You may think, “I’ll deal with it at some point when I have more time.” Especially if you are laden with the burdens of life being used by the enemy to keep you distracted. Just remember that God may be longsuffering but there will come a time when that season will end. I want to be ready, and I want you to be ready as well.

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