Hananiah was the first to be thrown into the furnace; he had no sooner hit the floor when Mishael and Azariah landed on top of him.

Azariah asked, "Are we dead or alive?"

"We're alive! Praise the L-rd!" shouted Mishael.

"Yes, Praise the L-rd G-d of Israel!" cried Hananiah. "Now would you two kindly get off my back!"

As the trio untangled themselves and stood up, they discovered they were not alone in the furnace. Their prayers had been answered, for the L-rd himself had delivered them.

King Nebuchadnezzar jumped to his feet. He could not believe his eyes. "Weren't only three men tied up and thrown into the fire?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the people answered.

"But I see four men walking around in the fire," the king exclaimed. "None of them are tied up or harmed, and the fourth one looks like a god." 13

The king walked as close to the furnace as he dared because it was still extremely hot. He called to the three in the furnace, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High G-d, come out at once!"14 (King Nebuchadnezzar always called them by their new Babylonian names.)

Everyone crowded around them and were amazed because Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael were not burned. Their hair wasn't scorched, and their clothes didn't even smell like smoke.15

King Nebuchadnezzar pronounced, "Praise their G-d for sending an angel to rescue his servants! They trusted their G-d and refused to obey my commands, choosing to die rather than worship or serve any god except their own. I will not allow people of any nation or race to say anything against their G-d. Anyone who does will be chopped up, and their houses will be torn down because no other god has such great power to save." 16

The king then gave them positions of even greater importance in Babylon.

____________________

"Incredible!" cried Brian. "They didn't even smell like smoke! Wow!"

Darryl smiled; he was glad to see Brian was getting into the Bible study.

"Who was in the furnace with them?" asked Jamie.

"Jesus the Messiah was there with them," answered Darryl.

"But Jesus hadn't even been born yet," Brian objected.

"Yes, Brian you are quite right; however, Jesus, being G-d, has existed for all eternity. There are several times he appeared in the Bible prior to his birth in Bethlehem. This would be an impossibility for a mere man, but Jesus is G-d."

"Dad, there is some big word used to mean a pre-Bethlehem appearance of the Messiah, but I can't remember it." said Jamie.

"You're thinking of Christophany,"17 replied Darryl.

"That's it! I always forget it! Christophany!" she said, trying to commit it to memory.

"Some people refer to him as the pre-incarnate Christ, which means 'before he became flesh,'"18 Darryl added.

"Is there anything else we need to know about chapter three?" Brian queried.

"Absolutely!" Darryl replied. "G-d always has a reason for including a particular story in the Bible. The story in chapter three not only tells us about something that happened a long time ago, but it is a picture of something that will take place in the future."

"What is going to happen in the future?" asked Brian.

"This story is a picture of the tribulation period," replied Darryl.

"Tribulation, what's that?" Brian questioned.

"The tribulation starts right after the rapture happens and ends with the second coming of Jesus Christ," Jamie answered.

"Rapture? Tribulation? Second coming of Jesus Christ? I'm confused!" Brian said, once again getting louder.

"Brian, we are talking about the end of the world as we know it!" Jamie was getting louder, too.

"End of the world!" Brian shouted and jumped to his feet. "What makes you think the world is going to end?"

"It's in the Bible!" Jamie shouted. "Tell him, Dad! Tell him!"

Darryl rolled his eyes. Things were getting a little bit out of hand. "Jamie, you're shouting," Darryl said sternly. He turned to Brian, "Brian, allow me to explain it to you. Please sit down."

Brian took a deep breath and sat back down.

"First, let me read to you from John 14:2-3. 'In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.' Jesus promised that He would go to heaven to prepare a place for us, and He would come again to get those of us who have trusted in Him as L-rd and Messiah. In I Thessalonians 4:16-17, the Scriptures tell us: 'For the L-rd Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of G-d; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the L-rd in the air; and so shall we ever be with the L-rd.' This event is known as the rapture; it means to be 'caught up.' During the rapture, Jesus will remove the Christians from the earth. 19

"Jesus will not actually come and stand on the earth at the rapture; He will meet us in the clouds. The next time Jesus actually stands on the earth will be at the second coming," Jamie said, wanting to be sure Brian had not missed this important detail.

Darryl continued, "The tribulation is a seven-year period immediately following the Rapture. Anyone who has not accepted Jesus as their L-rd and Messiah will be left behind to go through the worst seven years in the history of the world."

"Wow!" exclaimed Brian.

"Tell him about the second coming, Dad!" Jamie said excitedly.

"I was just about to, Jamie," replied Darryl. "At the end of the seven years, Jesus will come back to earth riding a white horse.20 He will bring all the saints with Him, the people who are currently in heaven at that time. That event is known as the second coming of Christ."

"The first coming is when he was born in Bethlehem!" Jamie added.

"Now Brian, do you understand all of that?" Darryl was afraid of overwhelming Brian with information.

"Yes, I think so. But how does this relate to chapter three?" Brian asked.

"During the tribulation period, there is going to be a world ruler, who we refer to as the antichrist. An image of the antichrist will be set up in the temple in Jerusalem, and all the people of the world will be ordered to bow down and worship this statue. Anyone refusing to do so will be killed."21

"Just like the three young men," said Brian amazed.

Darryl continued, "Yes, they represent those people who will not bow before the idol. Just as G-d spared the lives of Azariah, Mishael and Hananiah, G-d will spare the lives of many of the people who become Christians during the tribulation.22 The number three represents G-d's righteousness, so the three in the furnace represent the righteous people who live through the tribulation. The furnace, which was heated seven times hotter than usual, represents the seven years of tribulation; while the fire represents the various judgments that occur during the tribulation period." 23

"Pretty neat, Dad!" Jamie exclaimed.

"We will be talking about the rapture, tribulation, and second coming in greater detail as we move through the book of Daniel," concluded Darryl, smiling as he enjoyed the excitement that Brian and Jamie expressed on their faces.