Standing against the King

“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,” Matthew 10:28.

In the book of Daniel we’re told a very interesting story that involved three young Hebrew men who were taken from their families when King Nebuchadnezzar conquered their home land of Israel. These three devout, godly men stood against their new King and with boldness refused to bow to his false idol. Their names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief of the eunuchs of Babylon gave these three young men new names. Hananiah’s name was changed to Shadrach. Mishael to Meshach, and Azariah’s new name was Abednego.

In the beginning of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s captivity in Babylon they were made to endure a time of preparation before coming before the king. Finally when it was time they were brought to the king and after he had interviewed them, King Nebuchadnezzar was well pleased with them finding the young men to possess ten times the knowledge and wisdom than that of his own magicians and astrologers. God gave them the knowledge and wisdom the king witnessed and after some prompting by Daniel himself the king set them over the affairs of the province.

After a while, King Nebuchadnezzar became so full of himself that he commissioned a golden image to be set up which stood approximately ten stories high. Nebuchadnezzar commanded everyone, “that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.” Daniel 3:5

Now the king received word from certain people of the province that his three favored young Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were being disobedient to his command and refused to bow down and worship the golden image. So the King sent for the three young men and explained to them that if their disobedience continued they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. In other words the king gave them one last chance to change their minds and bow down to the golden image.

They responded with the following declaration. “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that [is] [the case], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver [us] from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Basically the three young Jews were telling King Nebuchadnezzar in no uncertain words, “Up yours, O King”.

As you can well imagine this infuriated the king all the more and he had the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. Then he commanded certain mighty men of valor to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the fiery furnace. The heat was so intense that the mighty men by obeying the King’s orders were each consumed by the fire. Ultimately, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into what was supposed to be their fiery grave.

Most of us know the out come of that extremely hot day. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were supernaturally delivered unharmed and unscorched from the flames and intense heat of the furnace. We know that Jesus was right there in the midst of the furnace walking along side the three young Jews, and keeping them from harm.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego aren’t the only ones who were miraculously assisted through terrible trouble. Daniel also had his time in the depths of peril because he refused to halt his prayer time to God, even for a thirty day period. Because Daniel remained true to God he was cast into the lion’s den for a night. The mouths of the lions were supernaturally shut up, and Daniel was saved just like his three young friends. Why? What gave them the ability to withstand evil, to completely with all boldness, and without fear, hold fast to their faith?

How many times have we read in our Bibles of various individuals being supernaturally escorted through what could have been terrible disasters? Many more than I dare try to fit within this commentary. If I were to place a few more within the lines of this text I’d certainly have to mention all of the patriarchs of the Old Testament. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David are all men who were joined by Jesus Himself as they traversed the perilous life God had set before them.

Consider Noah and his family. Noah was given instructions by God to build an ark, a huge floating zoo, and God told Noah that He would allow man one hundred and twenty more years to repent. While building that ark, Noah and his family remained obedient to God. Even though they spent days, weeks, months, and even decades surrounded by hoards of satanically evil, corrupted people, who undoubtedly persecuted that small godly family over and over again. Imagine, if you will, being one of eight people surrounded by millions of hate filled demonic controlled mongrels, it must have been similar to an older lady I read about recently in Palm Springs, California, who was just carrying her cross one day and found herself in the middle of a hoard of crazed homosexuals who smelled blood. She was certainly terrified for a short while. Remember, Noah and his family endured one hundred and twenty years of it.

Certainly we too have this supernatural covering as we face adversities in our walk with Jesus. In “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs” we can read of numerous occasions where Christians were being put through the most horrible of deaths, and eye witnesses exclaimed as they watched the faces of those being put to death “Their faces seemed as angels smiling to the end.” How is that possible? Only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can we Christians stand in the face of such horrendous tortures and persecutions.

I’m not saying I believe we are going to experience anything like those I’ve mentioned but I do believe persecution of the Christian Church is coming. It would be quite arrogant of us Christians living here in the U.S. to think we are immune. What kind of persecutions are coming you might ask? Well certainly we are already witnessing some of it today. Watch the news and you’ll see the agenda of the homosexuals hard at work persecuting the Church. Laws are being formulated and progressed to systematically eliminate God’s Holy Word from all venues in our public arenas. Never in the history of the English printed Bible has there been such a determination to remove it and deliver it to its final resting place, a heap of burning Bibles.

Around the world today Christians are being persecuted, abused, discriminated against, and martyred for adhering to their faith in Jesus Christ. Freedom of religion is of the past, intolerance toward Christians is the order of the day. Most country’s governments today are involved in silencing the Christian’s voice in one way or another. No they won’t admit it. None the less, they are hard at it and won’t be satisfied until their satanic mission is complete.

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and the others mentioned did not bend or bow to evil pressures, or influences. They stood on God’s inerrant word. They were bold in their response to the king. They knew for sure that God would see them through whatever evil obstacle was placed before them. Believers can take heart in knowing that many Christian brothers and sisters have gone through countless trials and hardships, but God, through His Holy Spirit, went with them through their adversity and He will be right beside us, too.

I know you’ve heard it a million times; Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” Hebrews 13:5. But after reading about the escapades of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel, along with all the others, shouldn’t we be even more fully assured that He means what He says? Jesus did not leave them to the evil intent of their captors, and He won’t leave us to the evil intent of a government bent on destroying this nation.

God will not be mocked, and if this new administration coming soon on the scene believes it can run the United States of America without God, they certainly have another thing coming, and I’m being very serious when I say this. God is in control and with His Church being under such pressure to assimilate into the new culture being promoted He will take drastic measures to free us from such bondage. Don’t be fooled into believing the lie of our newly elected president that we need change. When he makes that statement he’s talking about changing our current Christian nation into an atheistic, socialistic, humanistic, Satan following nation of fools.

Christians, hold on to God’s promises. Be as steadfast as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in their time and don’t let an evil king sway you in your beliefs. Our only King is King Jesus and we adhere to His word for our lives. Pray for our nation and our newly elected Presidential administration, but don’t be lulled to sleep; stay vigilant in your walk with Christ.

How do we believers occupy ‘til He comes? By holding fast to our faith in Christ. Never stop studying God’s word. Just as important, and imperative, is our continued witnessing to the lost. Even though we are growing closer to the Rapture of His Church, we are aware that Jesus is still saving lives and He will continue with or without a God fearing U.S. President.