What did the king add to legislation in order to induce worship?
(Daniel 3:1-30; Exodus 20:3-8; Revelation 13:11-18) Blog Jan. 12-18, 2020
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: In Daniel 1 we discovered three keys for understanding the book. The key of explanation that showed the order in which Daniel would reveal God’s restoration plan: kingdom, king, sanctuary, and people. The key for interpretation given in the first chapter is the Bible and the Bible only as its own interpreter. The key of operation shows how God deals with humanity by first giving us a time period of preparation, followed by a final examination, to be immediately given the results of our test.
In chapter two we learned that God revealed future world history using a “1, 2, 3, 4, 10, bang, results” outline and that God’s kingdom would only be restored through crisis.
Nebuchadnezzar rejects God’s revelation (Daniel 3:1-7; Rom. 3:23)
1. Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar chose to make an image like that of Daniel 2 rather than a lion? Because he was defying God’s revelation while retaining the similitude.
2. What was the king proclaiming by making his image entirely of gold? That God was wrong & that Babylon would last forever.
3. What can we learn from the dimensions of Nebuchadnezzar’s image? That they correspond with six, six, six which refers to man’s best (man was created on the sixth day & now falls short of God’s glorious seven.
4. What does the king do in order to draw worshippers to his new religion. He legislates worship.
5. What did the king add to legislation in order to induce worship of the golden image? He added music.
6. Besides legislation and music what else did Nebuchadnezzar use to bring universal worship of his image? He added a threat of punishment for those who did not conform.
7. What punishment had the king devised for lack of total conformity to his new religion? Being placed in a warm oven in order to produce a change of heart (later he changed to a death decree by burning).
Three Hebrews Honor God’s Word (Daniel 3:8-23; Ex. 20:3-8; Prov. 8:15-16; Eccl. 8:1-5; Acts 5:29; Rev. 13:11-18)
8. Why did the three Hebrews not bow down when the music played? Because God’s Law prohibited bowing to any other god or to any image.
9. Why didn’t the three Hebrews resist arrest when brought before the king? Because both Proverbs & Ecclesiastes teach respect rather than resistance of kingly authority.
10. What statement of the Apostle Peter is similar to that of the Hebrews when offered a second chance? “We must obey God rather than men.”
11. What does heating the furnace seven times hotter insure? Instant death for those thrown in there.
12. What did the three Hebrews value more than life itself? Obedience to God.
13. In what ways does this story parallel that of Revelation 13:11-18? Religion uses the state to enforce its dogmas (especially concerning worship) through legislation, punishment, & enticements like music & miracles, eventually resulting in a death decree.
14. How are we to understand Revelation 13:11-18? That a world power will arise at the end of Papal supremacy. It will arise outside of heavily populated Europe and will uphold civil and religious liberty for a time until its government motivated by Pentecostal manifestations shall enact religious laws prohibiting the free exercise of religion on pain of being faced with embargos and finally resulting in a death decree for those not receiving its mark.
The restoration of God’s government (Daniel 3:24-30; 2:44-45; Isaiah 43:2)
15. When observing four men walking in the fiery furnace whom did Nebuchadnezzar believe the fourth one was? The Son of God.
16. How would Nebuchadnezzar know what the Son of God looked like? Probably because of Daniel’s influence & that of the three Hebrews.
17. How is the restoration of God’s kingdom pictured in Daniel three? By the civil promotion of the three Hebrews.
18. What freedom does Nebuchadnezzar remove when elevating the Hebrew’s God? That of freedom of speech.
19. Through what means shown in both Daniel 2 and 3 is God’s kingdom restored? Through a (worship) crisis in which God manifests himself for the restoration of his kingdom on earth.
20. What lesson should we learn from Daniel 3? That civil government should never legislate religious duty but throughout history has continually done that and will do the same in our day.