“four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire … and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Dan 3:25, KJV)
In Day 673 we came across two contemporary cases where God’s nature as consuming fire was revealed, separate from hell, or destruction or revenge. We then referred to the manifestation of the “fourth Man”, “walking about in the midst of the fire” (Dan 3:25, NASB). In the previous teaching we pointed out that we have a wrong preconceived idea about fire, and came to the very important conclusion that Godly fire is part of the “strength of salvation”, and that the Lord of hosts visits his children in grace, through the flame of a consuming fire.
The “fourth Man” to whom we refer points to Daniel’s friends who, based on their faith, were thrown into a furnace. The lead-up to this dramatic event is recounted in Dan 3:14-18: “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?’ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘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 burning 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.’”
We know the rest of the story – Nebuchadnezzar became very angry and ordered the furnace to be made seven times hotter than it had been. When the three men were thrown into the burning furnace, tied up and wearing their cloaks, trousers and turbans, the attendants responsible for throwing them in themselves burned to death. In verses 24-25 the ecstatic events are recounted: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?’
They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’ ‘Look!’ he answered, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’”
One could of course rightly ask – how did the heathen king recognize Yahweh’s form, if He does not have form nor appearance (John 4:24)? It was clearly not only the miracle which had taken place before his eyes which had led to him making this statement – he had seen a “fourth man” in the fire. The only possibility is that the Angel of the Lord (Yeshua in his pre-incarnation state) manifested here through fire. Nebuchadnezzar’s spiritual eyes were opened and he saw the image of a man in the flames, which he immediately recognized as the Son of God. If Bileam’s donkey could get revelatory knowledge about Yeshua, the heathen king could too. What is however very interesting is that this appearance in the Old Testament is perhaps the strongest instance of Theophany of fire. The two other instances, in the case of Moses and Manoah, progressively illustrated this Theophany:
- In Ex 3:2-5 the “Angel of the Lord” appears to Moses “in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush”. Then Yahweh calls from the bush and speaks to Moses. In Acts 7:30-31 this history is recounted, and it is said: “And when Moses saw it, he was astonished and marveled at the sight: and as he drew near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord …” (Ampl).
- With the appearance of the Angel of the Lord to Manoah and his wife, He calls himself “Wonderful”, one of the names of Yahweh (Isa 9:6). It is also used in Yahweh’s message to Abraham, that he and his infertile wife are expecting a baby – Gen 18:14. In Judg 12:19-20 Wonderful manifests in a most wonderful manner: “For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.”
In the case of Daniel’s friends, Nebuchadnezzar’s observation of the “fourth Man in the fire” is perhaps the most complete Theophany of fire to be found in the Old Covenant.
One could rightly ask – what exactly did Nebuchadnezzar see – merely physical fire? No, clearly a manifestation or likeness of a transcendental “man” in the fire, as Moses and Manoah had seen, but more defined. This Man was not fire – fire was in essence who He was.
From there on this Theophany of Yahweh is visible throughout the Old Covenant in various metaphors of fire, but it is in the last chapter of the Old Testament that the prediction of Wonderful manifested through fire is made – the long-awaited Messiah is presented here: “’Behold, I send My messenger,and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.’” (Mal 3:1-3).
And guess what – again we find a ‘rhetorical question’ which is not one after all – Who can stand when He appears? After Mal 1, God’s word to Israel, where Yahweh speaks about the crisis of his relationship with Israel as covenant people, and Mal 2, where He appoints the priests as mediators of this covenant, and tell them about this divorce, He comes in Mal 3 and explains that He will send a Messenger (we now know this to be John the Baptist), who will come to prepare the way for Him to his temple. Who this visible Image of the Invisible God is, is confirmed by the use of the words “way” and “temple” [which typologically points to Jesus (John 14:6) and his Bride (1 Cor 3:16).]
But very importantly – this Theophany occurs through fire: He is like a refiner’s fire. How is this manifested in the New Covenant? In contrast to the Old Covenant, Theophany of fire in the new Covenant becomes, in Jesus the Christ, a wonderful revelation. Indeed – everything will be revealed by fire (1 Cor 3:13).
- Selah: Ponder how Jesus is manifested through fire in the Gospels.
- Read: Ezek 17-22
- Examine how this has been fulfilled: In these (ital) chapters the teaching is confirmed through
the code word fire.
