<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

David Wright

No Safety In Politics

That we in this country things are just and the world for that matter because you have to face it We are the leader of the world both culturally and and every other way That things are ratcheting up and I don't know about you.

I would prefer to just skip the years when there is a major political election on the horizon, wouldn't you?

I mean the constant talking and talking and talking of what's taking place and things are just ratcheting up and getting more and more difficult and challenging and the sides are becoming more and more polarized and we find ourselves in a difficult time.

And so today I'm going to seek to shed some light on this to try to keep us from getting sucked in to the politics and the idea that politics or an individual that is running will be the savior and the solution to the problem.

1 of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Daniel and I love the stories, especially on the front end of Daniel.

A prophecy is good too, but the stories are so powerful.

And the stories of those 3 Hebrews that came into Babylon as captives, they're in chapter 1, and here I put up how they're described, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good looking, gifted in all wisdom.

And really the Hebrew word for young is better translated teenagers.

And I would imagine coming in as a captive to Babylon, the size of the city, the beauty of the architecture.

Even today we still speak of the hanging gardens of Babylon.

That's something I would love to have seen.

Their splendor, their prestige, and for a teenage young person, a young man, to look at all of this.

I imagine very quickly they could say, Wow, this is amazing.

And they say, please test your servants for 10 days and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.

And here they have arrived, They have every delicacy they can imagine, but they say, no, we want to guard what we put into our mouths.

And they stand up for the right, and God honors them in mighty and powerful ways.

By the time we get to chapter 2, the king has this dream.

And Daniel finally is brought before the king.

He says, there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets.

And he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be when in the latter days.

And so he goes forward to explain all of that.

Nebuchadnezzar hears it, but there's a particular part he doesn't like, and that is this idea that you, O King, are the head of gold.

That part's good, but after you there will be another.

And so he reinterprets Daniel's dream, if you will, and by the time we get to chapter 3, we see the king acting in defiance of the dream that God has given to him.

Ultimately in defiance of the authority of heaven.

And so there in chapter 3, we don't just see this image that has all the different medals, but we see 1 medal, it's all gold, that's not an accident, we're sending a message, and in case there was rumblings of somebody maybe coming up on the horizon, no, we're going to make sure it's clear to everyone that there's only 1 in charge, it's me, and I'll be here forever.

So Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its width 6 cubits and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Does a image like this just get built overnight?

Doesn't it usually start with rumblings of what's going to happen, what's going to be built, what it's going to look like, where it's going to be built.

Oh, they're starting construction, they're moving dirt, they're putting the foundation, it's starting to go up.

And I imagine the word is out, Or at least they can put together 2 and 2.

What is coming with this image of gold and what will be asked of us?

When it mentions, it's oftentimes a square, so that's where we get 666, And again, the connection with Revelation 13 that is there with this image of gold.

And King Nebuchadnezzar verse 2 sent word together all the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Can you imagine all the pomp and circumstance?

And here's all the leadership and it's emphasized Throughout the chapter, this is the image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up.

8 different times that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Verse 4 and 5, then a herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O peoples, nations and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre and psaltery in symphony with all kinds of music you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up." It's no coincidence that music is involved.

When there is worship, and let me say especially when there is false worship, particularly music is involved.

There's something about music and especially the wrong kind of music that I'm not thinking in my right mind at those moments.

I'm being caught up in the emotion of the moment.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning furnace." So here you have the clear command to worship what?

The image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up, or face death.

To be clear, worshiping Nebuchadnezzar's golden image signified personal allegiance to the king.

It also signified the person was joining the king in his defiance, if you will, of God's message about the future.

The plain of Durah was flat, you could see for miles, no 1 could miss this moment to the king's glory.

The issue was worship, the stakes were high and everyone was compelled to worship upon pain of death.

And for Daniel's 3 Hebrew friends this stood in direct opposition to the truth of God.

Nebuchadnezzar not only ruled politically, but he also, as we see in this story, exercised religious authority.

We could say this is the combination or the, yeah, coming together of church and state.

As we study further in the book of Daniel and prophecies, we see that there's a very close connection to Daniel chapter 3 and Revelation 13.

In both there is a universal world leader, a counterfeit image, the number 666, the command to worship, a universal death decree, God's people persecuted, but The good news in both counts is there is God's deliverance.

But on this side of the story, what would you do?

Verse 8 of chapter 3 of Daniel, therefore at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.

And they spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O King, live forever.

You, O King, who made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery and symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the gold image.

Let me just pause right there and say you will not withstand the time of trouble if you don't know what you believe.

Nobody is going to be persecuted for things they are guessing about.

Either you know it and stand for it or you will fall." And they continue talking, "...the king who ever does not fall down in worship shall be cast in the midst of the burning furnace.

There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, perhaps over the same affairs that we think we should be set over, but you put it on them instead of us.

We're envious, we're jealous, we want to get them out of the way.

There are certain Jews, were there many other Jews there on that day?

There are certain Jews, not all the Jews who knew God and were trained in the law did what they were supposed to do.

We could say they went to our academies, they were part of Pathfinders, they sang in the choir, Yet what did they do?

I don't know about you friends, but I want to be among the certain.

So it's a conundrum that they face, a problem that they face, and look at what the criteria is for being a certain Jew.

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.

First of all, they do not regard the king.

Let me make this plain, because there are too many Seventh-day Adventists hooting and hollering and cheering for Trump or Biden, now Harris, putting their stock into political figures as if 1 of these men or women is going to save the world.

Are you so foolish, people of God, that you don't know that Satan works on the left and the right?

They're saying, we don't have to regard you folk.

We know who's behind all of this working.

It is not a coincidence that in scripture Satan is called the King of Tyre in Ezekiel 28, or the Prince of Babylon, Isaiah 14.

The Bible says we wrestle not against flesh and blood.

Back to Menu

No Safety In Politics

Transcript

Sponsor

Recorded

Related

“Stolen Valor”

38m

Young Adults

It Will Happen

51m

Jeff Horn Weekend

02 From Confusion to Clarity

34m

Practical Truth for Perilous Times

2. The Adventist Atheist

55m

Morning Devotional

Devotional

34m

Dave Fiedler: Core of the Controversy

Omega - Nothing New Here

1h 27m

The Time of Destiny

52m

The Ideal Homestead: Country Living with a Mission

1h 5m

ECYC 2012: Plenary Sessions

A Special Work of Reform

54m

"Tell It Again"

God’s Love Language

56m

Do This to Grow Your Church Fast

23m

Restoration 2025: Revelation Speaks Life

Give Him the Glory

51m

Sound Doctrine