Who is Fourth Man in the Fiery Furnace?

 

Last time, we saw a fourth man in the fiery furnace with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Today, we will discover more about this wonderful fourth man.

First, keep in mind the reason these young men refused to obey the king’s command. Essentially, the king called for them to renounce their faith and worship idols.

The Greek word for idolatry is eidololatria, a compound of eidolon and latria. Eidolon speaks of a manufactured idol, edifice, statue, or image of a false god. Latria comes from the verb latreuo, which means to be devoted to, serve, and worship.

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had holy respect for the God of Heaven, whose first two commandments are:

³ You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁴ You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; ⁵ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. (Ex 20:3-5a)

Thus, to bow down, serve, or worship any created thing or put anything before God is the sin of idolatry. It is an insult to God. And unless repented of, God will not allow it to go unpunished.

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

However, those who love God and keep His commandments receive His mercy.

but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Ex 20:5b-6)

Obeying God Over Idolaters

These young Hebrew men loved God. While they served the illegitimate King Nebuchadnezzar, they knew to obey God over the changing whims of mere mortal idolaters and tyrants who always want to end you when they can’t control you.

King Neb had the three Hebrew men thrown into a blazing hot furnace. But, to the king’s surprise, when he looked in the furnace’s door, he saw all three freely walking around and a fourth man in the fiery furnace with them. It was remarkable, miraculous, supernatural!

Who is the Fourth Man in the Fiery Furnace?

The fourth man in the fiery furnace is:

JESUS the Christ, the Eternal Word of God made flesh, Son of God, the Son of Man, our Savior, Deliverer, the ALPHA and OMEGA, the BEGINNING and END, who IS, and who WAS, and who is TO COME, the ALMIGHTY, the LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT!

And He is the ultimate Promise Keeper. The Lord promised His people:

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 flames scorch you. (Isa 43:2).

Here we see the Lord fulfilled this promise.

The Fourth Man in the Fiery Furnace is All-Knowing and All-Powerful

Friends, God is all-powerful. Jeremiah declared:

Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is nothing too difficult or too wonderful for You— (Jer 32:17, AMP)

And the Lord is all-knowing. He knows the future. He has already perfected everything that concerns you. So, freely love, trust and worship Him.

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[Scripture references: John 1:1, 14; Acts 4:12; Mt 28:20; Rev 1:8, 18; 19:6]