Daniel
Translated based on the teaching ministry of my RBT
Chapter 3 (Continued)
21~~Then
these men were tied up
in
their 'outer garments',
{would be the elegant robes issued to high officials}
their
'inner garments',
{their inner uniforms - like the French wear blue over a white
under-garment}
their
caps,
{RBT says their hats would have an indication of their rank}
and
their other clothes,
and
were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.
{Note: The indication of their clothes is important in that they will neither burn nor even smell of smoke when them men emerge from the furnance!}
22~~For
this reason . . .
because
the king's commandment was urgent . . .
and
the furnace had been made extremely hot . . .
the
flame of the fire slew those men
who
carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
{Note: In the next chapter, a revolt will succeed against the king. RBT says the king's best military men were here killed and that contributed to the revolt's success.}
23~~But
these three men . . .
Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego . . .
fell
into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24~~Then
Nebuchadnezzar the king was shocked/astounded,
and
stood up in haste . . .
and
he spoke/responded,
and
said to his 'high officials' {haddabar},
"Was
it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?"
They answered and said unto the king, "Certainly, O king."
25~~He
answered and said,
"Look!
I see four men loosed
{only thing that burned were their robes and now a 4th figure is
with them}
and
walking about in the middle of the fire without harm . . .
and
the form of the fourth is like
a
Son of the gods/'elahh {Chaldean}."
{since only the second member of the Godhead is ever seen by
man, this is Jesus Christ - the king is not a believer in Jehovah at
this point so he is probably referring to a member of his pantheon
of gods}
{Note: Only their shackles had been burned away! The principal is that sometimes God delivers us THROUGH suffering instead of OUT FROM suffering.}
26a~~Then
Nebuchadnezzar came near
to
the door of the furnace of blazing fire . . .
and
spoke/responded, and said,
"Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, come out . . .
you
servants of the Most High God/'elahh {Chaldean}
and
come here."
{Note: The king now recognizes that God's power is greater than his own. He is somewhere in the area of God consciousness and he does have some positive volition to God.}
26b~~Then
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
came
out of the middle of the fire.
27~~And
the satraps/
'highest
political men outside of Babylon'/princes
{'achashdarpan - Akkadian and Chaldean word - ruler of 17
Provinces outside of Babylon - Top men outside of Babylon},
the
'highest military men outside of Babylon'/governors,
{c@gan - Chaldean word for a corps area commander - a three
star general - highest ranking military officer outside of Babylon}
and
the 'divisional commanders'/captains,
{pechah - Chaldean word for a general officer- a two star general
- next highest ranking military officer outside of Babylon}
and
the king's 'high officials' {haddabar}
gathered
around and saw in regard to these men
that
the fire had no effect
on
the bodies of these men
nor
was the hair of their head singed,
nor
were their 'outer garments' damaged,
nor
had the smell of fire even come upon them.
{The
King's 'Phony' Response}
28~~Nebuchadnezzar
spoke/responded, and said,
"Blessed
be the God/'Elahh {Chaldean}
of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego . . .
Who
has sent His angel
and
'completely delivered' His servants
who
put their trust in Him,
{r@chats - Hithpiel perfect Chaldean tense - to trust under great
pressure and to carry on in spite of the circumstances}
violating
the king's command,
and
yielded up their bodies
so
as not to serve or worship any god/'elahh {Chaldean}
except
their own God/'Elahh {Chaldean}."
29~~"Therefore
I make a decree that any people,
nation,
or tongue that speaks any thing offensive
against
the God/'Elahh {Chaldean}
of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
shall
be torn limb from limb
and
their houses reduced to a rubbish heap,
inasmuch
as there is no other god/'elahh {Chaldean}
who
is able to deliver in this way."
{Note: This is ANOTHER ERROR of the king. It was wrong to force his people to worship his false gods. But it is also wrong to violate the people's free will and force them to worship the True God! That destroys the main aspect of the Angelic Conflict - free will to choose for or against God (Separation of Church and State).}
30~~Then
the king caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
to
prosper in the province of Babylon.
|
|
|
|
