SECOND QUARTER 2025
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #12
JUNE 21, 2025

“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer…Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10, NKJV onward).

In the summer of 1940 approximately 350,000 Allied soldiers found themselves trapped on the shores of Dunkirk.  France had just fallen to the Nazis, and the British Expeditionary Force along with French and Belgian troops were in dire straits.  With the sea at their backs, surrounded on three sides by German forces who had the ability to wipe them out, their situation seemed hopeless.  A message needed to be delivered to London, but there was concern it might be intercepted by the Nazis.  A British naval officer cabled just three words: “But if not.”  

These words were immediately recognized by England as alluding to the Biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The British commander was communicating that the army would not surrender, but they urgently needed help.  They were facing a fiery furnace and they needed a miracle. 

The British Navy put out a call to owners of small private boats.  Hundreds of varied vessels crossed the channel to rescue as many of the soldiers as they could.  And Divine providence was directing history.  For some reason Hitler ordered the German army to halt at the outskirts of Dunkirk.  This order and several days of cloudy weather gave the Allied forces the needed time to evacuate.  In nine days over 338,000 men were rescued.  The event became known as the Miracle of Dunkirk.

“But if not” (Daniel 3:18a).  This week we revisit the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image and the three young Hebrews who defied the king’s command, who willingly faced death rather than dishonor God.

The story of the golden image begins a chapter earlier where we encounter the first death decree in the book of Daniel.  When none of Nebuchadnezzar’s magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans could tell the king his dream and its interpretation, the furious monarch gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.  This order included Daniel and his three companions.  The Hebrew friends prayed, and God answered by revealing the dream and its meaning to Daniel in a night vision.  

Daniel was ushered into the ruler’s presence where he gave glory to the King of kings, the source of all wisdom, before relating and interpreting the dream.  An impressed and convicted Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before the young Jewish captive.  In awe and amazement, the king confessed, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets since you could reveal this secret” (Daniel 2:47).

“For a time afterward, Nebuchadnezzar was influenced by the fear of God; but his heart was not yet cleansed from worldly ambition and a desire for self-exaltation.  The prosperity attending his reign filled him with pride.  In time he ceased to honor God, and resumed his idol worship with increased zeal and bigotry.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 504.

“The thought of establishing the empire and a dynasty that should endure forever, appealed very strongly to the mighty ruler before whose arms the nations of earth had been unable to stand.  With an enthusiasm born of boundless ambition and selfish pride, he entered into counsel with his wise men as to how to bring this about.  Forgetting the remarkable providences connected with the dream of the great image; forgetting also that the God of Israel through His servant Daniel had made plain the significance of the image, and that in connection with this interpretation the great men of the realm had been saved an ignominious death; forgetting all except their desire to establish their own power and supremacy, the king and his counselors of state determined that by every means possible they would endeavor to exalt Babylon as supreme, and worthy of universal allegiance.”—Ibid, pp. 504, 505.

In the unrenewed heart the desire for self-exaltation is ever present. As in the case of Nebuchadnezzar and his counselors, unconverted men and women are prone to either ignore the inspired Word or wrest from it that which caters to pride and self-justification.

“The symbolic representation by which God had revealed to king and people His purpose for the nations of earth, was now to be made to serve for the glorification of human power.  Daniel’s interpretation was to be rejected and forgotten; truth was to be misinterpreted and misapplied.  The symbol designed of Heaven to unfold to the minds of men important events of the future, was to be used to hinder the spread of the knowledge that God desired the world to receive.”—Ibid, p. 505.  

The beautiful and costly image was at last completed.  “The Chaldeans had never before produced anything so imposing and majestic as this resplendent statue.”—Ibid, p. 505.  

The appointed day of its dedication arrived.  At the sound of the music all bowed—but not all.  This was immediately reported.  “O king live, forever!  You, O king, have made a decree that …whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.  There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you.  They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:8-12).  The king was furious.  The three were brought before him and were given the opportunity to change their minds.  

Their reply?  “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 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” (Daniel 3:16-18).

Not infrequently, humans occupying positions of authority respond vindictively and punitively when challenged or disobeyed.  The greater the power wielded, the greater the likelihood of a tyrannical reaction. 

An enraged Nebuchadnezzar ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter.  The intense heat, radiating from the furnace, slew the king’s servants who cast the three offenders into the flames.  However, to the king’s utter astonishment, he next saw four men walking around in the fire, and King Nebuchadnezzar recognized the fourth to be the Son of God.  The three faithful Jews were then summoned out of the furnace, and the ruler and his counselors gathered around them.  “The hair of their heads was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them” (Daniel 3:27).

“By the deliverance of His faithful servants, the Lord declared that He takes His stand with the oppressed, and rebukes all earthly powers that rebel against the authority of Heaven.  The three Hebrews declared to the whole nation of Babylon their faith in Him whom they worshiped.  They relied on God.  In the hour of their trial they remembered the promise, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; nor shall the flame scorch you.’ Isaiah 43:2. And in a marvelous manner their faith in the living Word had been honored in the sight of all.  The tidings of their wonderful deliverance were carried to many countries by representatives of the different nations that had been invited by Nebuchadnezzar to the dedication.  Through the faithfulness of His children, God was glorified in all the earth.

“Important are the lessons to be learned from the experience of the Hebrew youth on the plain of Dura.  In this our day, many of God’s servants, though innocent of wrongdoing, will be given over to suffer humiliation and abuse at the hands of those who inspired by Satan, are filled with envy and religious bigotry.  Especially will the wrath of man be aroused against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment; and at last a universal decree will denounce these as deserving of death.  

“The season of distress before God’s people will call for a faith that will not falter.  His children must make it manifest that He is the only object of their worship, and that no consideration, not even that of life itself, can induce them to make the least concession to false worship.  To the loyal heart the commands of sinful, finite men will sink into insignificance beside the word, of the eternal God.  Truth will be obeyed though the result be imprisonment or exile or death.”—Ellen. G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 512, 513.

What has happened will again happen.  Revelation 13 speaks of another image, a worship decree, and a death decree.  Those who take their stand on the side of truth will experience the ire of the dragon and his agents.

This quarter we have looked at allusions, images, and symbols in the Bible.  The thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Revelation contain several of the aforementioned.  (Of course, John’s entire Patmos vision contains Biblical references at every turn.  It is essential to be a student of God’s Word to fully appreciate and understand the book of Revelation).    

Revelation 13 opens with a beast rising from the sea (a composite creature of the four beasts of Daniel 7).  His deadly wound was healed, and the world marveled and followed the resurrected beast.  “They worshiped the dragon (Satan) who gave authority to the beast” (Rev. 13:4). 

“Who is like the beast?” is a parody of the name Michael.  Michael means “Who is like God?”  The beast blasphemes God’s name (His character), His sanctuary (His government and plan of salvation), and those who dwell in Heaven (God’s loyal subjects).

The second beast, lamb-like yet speaking like a dragon, orders that an image to the first beast be made.  He deceives those who dwell on the earth by performing great wonders.  Fire comes down from heaven (a counterfeit outpouring of the Holy Spirit).

The dragon, beast, and lamb-like beast form a counterfeit Godhead and attempt to usurp Divine authority.   There is a mark.  A death sentence is pronounced on those who refuse to receive the mark and refuse to bow to the image.  

“Here is wisdom.  Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.  His number is 666” (Revelation 13:18).  Much could be said about the number 666.  Contextually it appears to be tied to economic sanctions (Rev. 13:17).  This number is mentioned in the Old Testament as Solomon’s yearly income of gold (1 Kings 10:14, 2 Chronicles 9:13).  “It is the number of a man.” Man was created on the sixth day.  The dimensions of Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold were sixty cubits by six cubits (Daniel 3:1).  The Babylonian numeral system was based on powers of 60, and even today our units of time can be traced to Babylon.  It is of interest that the final test centers on time.  Which day will we observe?  Will it be the first day of the week, the day associated with sun and creature worship (idolatry); or the seventh day, the day embodying completeness, the day that honors our Creator and Redeemer.  The Sabbath is central to God’s law of love and to the everlasting gospel.  The Three Angels’ Message call for us to worship God, to enter into His rest and thus escape the wine of the wrath of Babylon’s fornication and the wrath of God.  Those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark have no rest (Revelation 14:6-13).

A crisis looms before us.  The following sequential titles of chapters, found toward the end of Ellen White’s book, The Great Controversy, aptly summarize the focus of our lesson this week: “Liberty of Conscience Threatened,” “The Impending Conflict,” “The Scriptures a Safeguard,” “The Final Warning,” “The Time of Trouble,” and “God’s People Delivered.” 

“None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.  To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men?  The decisive hour is even now at hand.  Are our feet planted on the rock of God’s immutable word?  Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 593.

Throughout history God has miraculously interposed.  God delivered the three captive Hebrews.  He delivered Peter from prison.  He will deliver His own who live through earth’s final conflict.  They have yielded to agape love, and the Father’s name is written on their foreheads.

At two critical junctures in his life, we find Peter sleeping.  The first is in the Garden of Gethsemane.  The future of the world hangs in the balance as Jesus faces the crucible.  Will the Son drink the bitter cup and suffer the wrath of God against sin to save lost humanity?  

Their Master asked his disciples to watch and pray with Him and for themselves, but they all slept.  “Then He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What!  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40, 41). 

 “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

Peter’s sleeping left him unprepared, and in the hour of trial he denied his Lord.  However, fast forward a few years and we encounter a converted Peter.   This time we find the disciple asleep, not in a garden, but in a rock-hewn cell, chained and locked behind barred doors, guarded within and without.  The church is praying for him (Acts 12).

“It is the last night before the proposed execution.  A mighty angel is sent from heaven to rescue Peter.  The strong gates that shut in the saint of God open without the aid of human hands.  The angel of the Most High passes through and the gates close noiselessly behind him.  He enters the cell, and there lies Peter, sleeping the peaceful sleep of perfect trust.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 146.

Our precious Savior invites us come to Him and find sweet rest (Matthew 11:28-30).  It is our privilege to fully rest in Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).  May our heart’s desire be to have the Father’s name written in our foreheads; to by faith follow the Lamb wherever He leads; and having washed our robes in the blood of the Lamb, to joyfully bow and worship before the throne of God (Rev. 14:1-5).  

 

~Martha Ruggles