THE WISE SHALL THE STUDY OF DANIEL UNDERSTAND THE STUDY OF DANIEL ROBERT W. TOZIER WWW.CREATIONREVELATION.ORG 1
Creation Revelation Robert & Mary Tozier WWW.CREATIONREVELATION.ORG Rtozier@creationrevelation.org At Sunrise Southern Baptist Church Las Vegas, NV 2
The Wise Shall Understand Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 3
Opening Prayer 4
The Wise Shall Understand The Study of Daniel Lesson 9 5
THE FIERY FURNACE Daniel 3:7-30 6
THE PLOT AGAINST CONSCIENCE {Technocracy} 7
THE PLOT Dan 3:7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. (Continued) 8
THE PLOT 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. (Continued) 9
THE PLOT 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. (Continued) 10
THE PLOT 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that 11 shall deliver you out of my hands?
THE PLOT Imagine the scene as hundreds or thousands in the presence of Nebuchadnezzar were prostrate before the image, and out of that mass could be seen the figures of three Hebrew children standing straight and tall. Accusations were made against the Hebrew children. These Hebrews were set over the affairs of Babylon, and resentment was felt by certain Chaldeans. 12
THE PLOT They were informing the king of the serious mistake in giving them that authority. They also reminded the king that to challenge Babylonian lawful worship was to challenge the king. So that there could be no mistake, Nebuchadnezzar would have his band play the music one more time to give them one last chance to comply with his decree. 13
WE WILL NOT BOW 14
WE WILL NOT BOW Dan 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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. 15
WE WILL NOT BOW The refusal of the Jewish children to worship gave the appearance of opposition to the greatness of his (Nebuchadnezzar s) kingdom. They were saying: "We don't care about the consequences, it doesn't matter what man can do to us, we fear God instead. But, no matter what, our God is able to deliver us. 16
WE WILL NOT BOW In any case, they will not serve the king's gods nor worship the golden image. They will honor only the one true God. Like Daniel, they too refused to compromise and bow to peer pressure. The world never likes those who do not follow the current fads and trends. The world likes those people who fit identical profiles. 17
WE WILL NOT BOW But the Bible admonishes us in Romans 12:2: ROM 12:2 Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold. J.B. Phillips Bible (Paraphrase) 18
WE WILL NOT BOW Because of the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing Gay marriage we as Christians may soon be faced with obeying Caesar or obeying God. For some the time is already here. Some have already made the choice to honor their conscience and have resigned their jobs. This nation has chosen to ignore God. 19
THE FIERY FURNACE This has been a long war against the family. One of the tenets of Karl Marx was the abolition of the family. This was the Ideal of Hillary Clinton when she advocated that It takes a village to raise children. This is the premise of utopian society as described by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World. 20
WE WILL NOT BOW This is a rebellion a rebellion against God. Just is with the Communist experiment in Russia for most of the 20 th century, the family did not matter to the leaders, only that there should be enough workers for the required State production. Many on the left today want to produce what Communism failed to provide a utopian society. 21
WE WILL NOT BOW In order to accomplish that, it is essential to these atheistic power brokers to change the worldviews and pull down the morals, values, and the religion of the people. Another ideal of Karl Marx was that all religion must be abolished. 22
WE WILL NOT BOW Closely related to the ideals of Karl Marx is Secular Humanism. 23
WE WILL NOT BOW Secular Humanism was formalized in 1933 with The Humanist Manifesto. This manifesto was a statement of their religious beliefs. It is a religion of atheism. This is the religion that is allowed to be taught in the public school system. 24
WE WILL NOT BOW The Communism of Russia was a failure because it was forced at the point of a gun and did not allow the worker the fruit of his own labor lacking incentive to produce. Much of the agenda of the present world leaders is based upon the principles of Marxism. I believe that our current President is Marxist in his ideology. 25
WE WILL NOT BOW The aims of a Marxist is to: Abolish religion. Abolish private property. Abolish individuality and Freedom particularly in buying and selling. Abolish the family. Abolish countries and nationalities. Abolish morality. A heavy progressive income tax. 26
WE WILL NOT BOW Abolish all right of inheritance. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. 27
WE WILL NOT BOW Equal liability of all to labor. Free public education. Abolish the distinction of town and country by a more equable distribution of population over the country. These are some of the goals of Marxism if you consider carefully, we have most of these now operating in the United States today. 28
WE WILL NOT BOW Notice the sustainable development map regarding redistributing population. 29
WE WILL NOT BOW It is my belief based upon years of study that governments regulate the populations in the various nations. Some means of population control used by States have been and are the following: Wars, exporting people, birth control, eugenics programs, abortion, Homosexality, starvation (control of food supply), genocide, murder. The Georgia Guidestones recommends 30 the population be reduced to 500,000,000.
WE WILL NOT BOW 31
WE WILL NOT BOW I believe that the implementation of the new system will be interrupted by several events The Rapture, The Tribulation, and The Second Coming Daniel 11 speaks of trouble for the end-time world leader. The utopian ideal of Huxley s Brave New World was to entertain and sedate the people to get them to enjoy their servitude. 32
TECHNOCRACY 33
TECHNOCRACY 34
TECHNOCRACY The technetronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain upto-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Between Two Ages, 1970. 35
TECHNOCRACY Economically, this Brave New World Order now taking form will probably consist of a replacement of Capitalism with something called Technocracy. Technocracy is an energy based economy it is the idea that science and technology will save us it also has as its goal sustainable development with restricted land use It answers to why Al Gore was calling for cap and trade. 36
TECHNOCRACY It seems logical that Technocracy is the holy grail of the New World Order now emerging. Technocracy promotes the belief that human beings are the root cause of societal problems directly related to biology, climate, and natural resources. Society must be subjected to scientific management to prevent certain destruction. 37
TECHNOCRACY The ideas of sustainable development, Agenda 21, global warning, the U.N. s green economy, and the modern ecology movement all hold to these assumptions human beings must be constantly regulated and monitored. Distribution of energy resources and the goods they produce must be constantly monitored and measured in order to control society with scientific precision. 38
TECHNOCRACY All individuals must be monitored, measured and controlled in every facet of individual activity including every bit of energy consumed by each individual. The implementation of this new economic system will be elimination of national sovereignty and borders, elimination of constitutional government, elimination of private property, elimination of political systems, and management by scientists and engineers for efficient control. 39
TECHNOCRACY Money will not exist, thus preventing the accumulation of private wealth. Energy Credits will be issued on a regular energy accounting cycle that can be used to purchase goods and services these credits will expire at the end of each cycle when new credits are issued. This is the solution that has been supported by Rockefeller s Tri-lateral Commission and others; its just that no one was paying attention. 40
TECHNOCRACY Agenda 21 is the framework. Sustainable Development is the driver. The Tri-Lateral Commission, with the United Nations, is the promoter. David Rockefeller and Brzeninski are pushers. They have gained control with the Executive Branch since Carter. 41
TECHNOCRACY Tri-lateral control of the Executive Branch beginning with Carter, Bush (H) (within Reagan s administration), Bush (H), Clinton and Gore, Bush (W) and Chaney, and Obama. Changing focus of religion to humanitarian, not evangelizing. 42
TECHNOCRACY Our form of government requires an informed electorate. It is your responsibility to be informed, or you will loose your freedoms. Regarding to king s decree, one might inquire, where was Daniel? No clue is given, but you might surmise that Daniel was not present. He may have been outside of Babylon at this time. 43
EXECUTION 44
EXECUTION Dan 3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 45
EXECUTION 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen [trousers], and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. The Babylonian smelting furnace was such that metal could be thrown in from a platform on top, and when melted was extracted from an opening at the bottom and poured into molds. 46
EXECUTION Iron was a common metal in those days and the melting point of iron is 2,795 degrees Fahrenheit. The furnace was very hot indeed. It is known that there were similar ovens in Persia used for the execution of criminals. It is unknown how Daniel escaped this fate unless, for some reason, he was absent, or was exempt because of his high office. 47
EXECUTION This was Nebuchadnezzar's method of disposing of undesirables, as Hitler later would use his gas chambers and ovens. 48
EXECUTION How do we know that this was a method of execution in Babylon? In one of the earlier excavations at Babylon a building was discovered which initially appeared to be a firing kiln like those used to fire bricks and pottery. A cuneiform inscription gives the purpose of the structure: This is the place of burning where men who blasphemed the gods of Chaldea died by fire (Rimmer, p. 325). 49
EXECUTION This demonstrates that the scriptural account is consistent with practices in ancient Babylon. There is a cuneiform inscription in the British Museum from the library of the Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, which was discovered at Nineveh The inscription reads: Saulmagina my rebellious brother, who made war with me, they threw into a burning fiery furnace, and destroyed his life (Caiger, p. 176). 50
EXECUTION Jeremiah speaks of this practice: JER 29:22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; The opening through which Nebuchadnezzar peered was possibly the one through which the fire could be stoked and fueled. 51
EXECUTION The perfect number 7 means that they should make it as hot as possible. Dan 3:22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. (Continued) 52
EXECUTION 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. The men that were to cast them in were overcome and perished by the heat before they could cast the Hebrew children into the furnace. 53
EXECUTION The verse simply states that the children "fell down bound" into the furnace. The King was probably peering through the opening where the molten metal was usually extracted. He wanted to see them burn, but was astonished at what he saw. 54
ASTONISHMENT 55
ASTONISHMENT Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. (Continued) 56
ASTONISHMENT 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. (Continued) 57
ASTONISHMENT 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. (Continued) 58
ASTONISHMENT 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon. 59
ASTONISHMENT Three entered the furnace bound, now four were seen loose, walking around inside the furnace. The fourth man is like the Son of God, but, it is doubtful that Nebuchadnezzar could comprehend that idea. More likely he thought of the fourth man as a son of the gods. He was saying that the fourth person looked like a divine or supernatural being. 60
ASTONISHMENT In verse 28, the king said that God sent His Angel. The Aramaic word translated angel is also used for deity. Therefore, with this in mind, He is clearly indicated as of heavenly origin. Who is that fourth man? There is much agreement that He is the pre-incarnate Christ. 61
PROPHETIC IMPLICATIONS 62
PROPHETIC IMPLICATIONS The incident of the fiery furnace has prophetic implications: Prophetic Symbols of the Fiery Furnace The Tribulation is symbolized by the furnace. The Antichrist will be like Nebuchadnezzar "a proud, godless, violent, out-of-control, one-world Gentile leader." The false prophet will be like the herald who told everyone to worship the statute. 63
PROPHETIC IMPLICATIONS The Abomination of Desolation will be like Nebuchadnezzar's grotesque statute. The Fourth Man will be like Jesus who helps His people Israel. The absence of Daniel could signify the church, which will not be present during the Tribulation because of the Rapture. 64
FAITHFULNESS 65
FAITHFULNESS The faithfulness of the Hebrew children resulted in Nebuchadnezzar s public acknowledgment of the power of God. God was glorified by His ability to deliver them from the fire. We may not be asked to endure the trial of being burned alive, but we are under trial nevertheless. 66
FAITHFULNESS Satan is the prince of this world, and he seeks to destroy our faith in God anyway he can. 1 PET 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (Continued) 67
FAITHFULNESS 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. We must be steadfast in our faith which will result in the ultimate glorifying of God by our lives. 68
FAITHFULNESS In Romans Paul writes: ROM 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 69
FAITHFULNESS Our lives must be a living sacrifice to God, not being conformed to the world, and transformed in our minds so that we can know and do what is the perfect will of God. 70
End of The Study of Daniel Lesson 9 71
Closing Prayer 72
Creation Revelation Robert & Mary Tozier WWW.CREATIONREVELATION.ORG Rtozier@creationrevelation.org At Sunrise Southern Baptist Church Las Vegas, NV 73