“Whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” Daniel 3:11
On the plain of Dura sits a large image. It appears to be made of gold but its dimensions are out of perspective and its features are somewhat distorted. It is a wooden structure covered with gold to make it appear much more valuable than it really is. This is the first of
Satan’s objects in this story. It is an object of worship. God allows
him to set up this object but in doing so he reveals much about
himself and the worthlessness of what he offers to mankind.
Satan’s second object may or may not be seen throughout the plain of
Dura. We actually do not know a lot about it. It is an object of threat
and punishment. It is a burning fiery furnace that Nebuchadnezzar
converted from its intended use to threaten anyone who would
not obey his command to worship His first object.
The act of burning someone to death as a punishment for a crime
was common at that time. Jeremiah 39:22 predicted that
Nebuchadnezzar would burn two prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah,
in the fire for false prophecy and other sins. In the Code of
Hammurabi there are at several instances where burning a person to death is prescribed as a just penalty for a crime. Death by fire in
Mesopotamia was a penalty reserved for crimes against a hierarchical superior (especially against a king or a god). That is the case here.
Second, archaeologists working in Babylon uncovered an ancient library on clay tablets. Included on these tablets were the punishments for various violations. For the failure to worship or show honor to any god, one was to be cast alive into a fiery furnace.
According to D. James Kennedy huge furnaces, possibly like this one on the plain of Dura, have been discovered in Babylon. The normal use of a furnace was to make bricks to build the walls that protected the city. The furnace forged bricks made from the soil. Using hot asphalt as mortar, the walls were then constructed. It is thought that the furnace that Nebuchadnezzar referred to on the plain of Dura may have been a brick-kiln, perhaps the very one required to build the base for the golden image. The top of the kiln would be like a chimney to allow the smoke from the fire to escape. The furnace was likely located near the image. Thus it was easy for Nebuchadnezzar to convert it into a visible place of punishment for those who would refuse his command to worship the image. At the bottom of the kiln there was usually a door or hole where additional fuel and
air were added to regulate the heat of the fire.
Similarities To The Tribulation This scene is a forerunner of the antichrist in the middle of the Tribulation. He will erect a statue in the
Temple. That object is one of worship. Just as Nebuchadnezzar’s image represents him, the Antichrist’s object represents himself. The whole world is demanded to fall down and worship this image. In both cases anyone who refuses faces imminent death. Here we see that Satan, through both Nebuchadnezzar and the Antichrist, copies what belongs to the living and true God. Satan wants the worship that rightfully belongs only to God. When he cannot get it willingly, he demands and threatens to force his way. (Again we see the distortions of evil. God never creates an image of Himself (in fact he prohibits it) and He never demands or threatens men to worship him. God wants our love from the heart, (not worship out of fear).
What can we learn? We may think Satan’s scheme of threatening people to gain their worship is not true today yet his scheme is alive and well. Today we are threatened with what we will miss out on if we dare worship the age old “traditions” of God. We are told it is wise to worship at the altar of wealth and achievement and fame. He threatens “obey God and you will lose, you will be left behind your peers and your career and income will suffer. Many fear the loss of worldly goods so they fall and worship because the furnace is real – they see it. But a few will trust God. They too see the furnace but in faith their eyes see God in control. So they stand alone, knee and heart unbowed.