The Fiery Furnace in Babylon: Another place where we can see Jesus, “the Son of God”!

The Fiery Furnace in Babylon: What was that all about?

Many people may have heard of the Old Testament account that comprises Daniel, chapter 3.  The story was about Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, the three “certain Jews” (from the tribe of Judah) who were companions of Daniel, and the four of them had been given high official positions in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.  In the Chapter 3 account, we read how the three men refused to worship the false idol of gold, that was ~90 feet high by ~9 feet in width, that the king had set up, and as the king had commanded.  They understood the full penalty for disobedience to that command.  They understood that they would be thrown into a fiery furnace.  But they miraculously survived!  

Was this just a children’s bedtime story?

The answer is an emphatic NO! As we have already learned from numerous other Old Testament accounts, this not only was a true historical event, but it was crafted by God as an “historical parable” to convey an extremely important spiritual message, which is the good news of the Gospel of Salvation through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Moreover, there is another aspect of salvation that God paints with words in this particular account. For anyone to become saved…for believers to remain untouched by the fires of Hell… Jesus had to be there to endure those fires on behalf of all those who are counted among His sheep. If Jesus endured the fires of Hell, then the believers will never have to.  Those who are not faithful, spiritual “Jews” (believers), but instead are like the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar (who God uses in some cases to represent the devil), will be similarly slain by the fiery furnace (and the fires of hell that represent the second death are for eternity).

Had you ever heard that before?

If so, great!…but if not, please read on.

We first need to go back to the beginning of the Book of Daniel to read the first seven verses in Chapter 1:

Daniel 1:1-7 “¶In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judahcame Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. ¶ And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring [certain] of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom [was] no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as [had] ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel [the name] of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.“

So then, according to Daniel 1:7, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the assigned names (by the Babylonians) of three men, who were the Jewish believing acquaintances of Daniel, who Daniel had the king elevate to be “over the affairs of the province of Babylon“(Dan 2:49), and, who, with Daniel, asked to be allowed to eat their own food (“pulse”) rather than that provided by the king (Daniel 1:12).  Those three friends original Hebrew names were Hannaniah, Michael, Azariah; but which were changed to the Chaldean names, :

• Hananiah (חֲנַנְיָה (ḥănanyâ)^H2608 means “”God Has Favoured” or “To Whom God is Gracious”                             Shadrach (שַׁדְרַךְ (šaḏraḵ)^H7714 or שַׁדְרַךְ (šaḏraḵ)^H7715 reportedly means “royal” or “the great scribe“
• Misha’el (מִישָׁאֵל (mîšā’ēl)^H4332  means “Who is Like God?”, also means “to feed” or “to provide”—as in how a husband provides for his family                                                                                                                                                         Meshach מֵישַׁךְ (mêšaḵ)^H4336 means “guest of a king“
• Azariah (עֲזַרְיָה (ʿăzaryâ)^H5838 appropriately means “God has helped”                                                                           Abednego (עֲבֵד נְגוֹ (ʿăḇēḏ nᵊḡô)^H5665 reportedly means “servant of Nebo”, and Nebo was a Babylonian deity like “Mercury” and means “prophet“
• For the record, Daniel means“God is my judge” (Belteshazzar (בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר (bēlṭᵊša’ṣṣar)^H1095 reportedly means, variously, “Bel’s Prince” or “lord of the Straitened’s Treasure“)

We read at the beginning of Chapter 3 where King Nebuchadnezzar made a huge image of gold (implicitly of himself) and decreed that all who heard the ”sound of the cornet, flute, harp …and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”

Daniel 3:1, “¶Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height [was] threescore cubits, [and] the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.”

Daniel 3:2, “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”

Daniel 3:3 “Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.“

Daniel 3:4 “Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,” 

Daniel 3:5 “[That] at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:“

The Burning Fiery Furnace

And then in verse 6 we read of the punishment for not doing so, “And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

And we know that Nebuchadnezzar would do it, as we read in Jeremiah 29:20-22, “Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which [are] in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;“

And is it not reminiscent of what we read in Revelation 13:15 “And he (the second beast, the anti-Christ) had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

But what do we read in Daniel 3:7?… “¶Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down [and] worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.“

The Accusers Point Out Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

Then we read in Daniel 3:8 where “certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.”   This is reminiscent of Haman as the accuser in Esther and Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, who opposed Nehemiah in Nehemiah Chapter 2

Thereafter, we read the account of the accusations in Daniel 3:9-12, “They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, [that] he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.“

 Verse 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

 Verse 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

Verse 15, “ Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”

Verse 16, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.  Remember what Jesus taught in Matthew 10:19 “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.“

Verse 17, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

Verse 18, “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

Verse 19, “Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.”

Verse 20,  “And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.”

Verse 21, “Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Verse 22, “Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel 3:23,  “And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

We should take a moment to look at Isaiah 43:1-3 (given to Isaiah about 150 years before the Babylonian captivity), “¶But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called [thee] by thy name; thou [art] mine. When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt [for] thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.“

Ordinarily, apart from this prophetic promise by God to His people via Isaiah, that would have been the end of the story (they would have burned to death).  Although Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to die for their faith in the true God of all creation, God Protected them and they didn’t die.  In fact, we read the following surprising and truly amazing account…

Verse 24, “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.”

Verse 25 “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”  

Jesus is the “Son of God”, and as God Promised in Isaiah (Chapter 43), Jesus was with Them!

WOW! Is not that very peculiar language?  Of all the ways to describe the fourth person in the midst of the fiery furnace, why did king Nebuchadnbezzar say that personage had the form of “the Son of God”?  This is the FIRST and ONLY time in the whole Old Testament that the term “Son of God” is found!

It was because it was Jesus Christ walking in their midst! Jesus is also the “angel” (“messenger” in the original Hebrew) who we see mentioned later, who made it possible for the three others to survive. After all, isn’t it true that only Jesus is “the Son of God”? (but Jesus was also a “man”, born of the Virgin Mary).  See for example the first eight verses of the Book of Hebrews: 

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;  Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?  And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, [he saith], And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” The last verse is referring back to Psalm 45:6.

There are many other unequivocal references to Jesus as the Son of God in the New Testament (see for example, Matthew 3:17 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”[and Mat 17:5, etc.])… but what is amazing is that this reference is in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament!  We have to ask the question, who do the Jews think was being described here?  There is not a single other reference in the Old Testament that specifically mentions “the Son of God”! (Although Proverbs 30:4 alludes to Him).  However we find specific mention of the phrase “the Son of God” (Jesus Christ) 46 times in the New Testament (with Matthew 14:33 being one example: “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”…and remember that in that account, the wind was “boisterous” until Jesus was with the disciples in the ship all together and “the wind ceased“).

This link provides a complete list of all of 47 verses that specifically contain the phrase “Son of God” Who is Jesus Christ, our Lord  and God:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=Son+of+God&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1

Notice that in the same verse we are told that not only did they not die, but they were “loose”…Jesus frees us from the bands of captivity. Isaiah 58:6 “[Is] not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?“

But, let’s read on to the end of the chapter…

Verse 26, “Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire”.

Verse 27, “And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”

Verse 28, “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.”

Verse 29,  “Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.”

Verse 30, “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.”

So having read this historical account, which is also an “historical parable”,  we note that the fire was so hot that the servants of the king who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace were themselves slain.  Moreover, not only did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego survive, but their clothes did not even have the smell of smoke on them afterward!

What does this account remind us of? Remember the account of Joshua (Jesus in Greek, and meaning Savior in Hebrew) leading he people through the Jordan River to the “Promised Land”? As long as the priests held the Ark of the Covenant in the Jordan River, the people could pass through at flood stage and not even have the souls of their shoes get wet!  (they crossed on dry land) Familiar…yes!  Why is that?…It is because God repeats the same theme through many different allegories to paint new portraits of God’s magnificent Plan of Salvation through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.  Jesus paid the price for the believer’s salvation.  If Jesus, the Son of God, is there, we are safe, the fires (or floods) of Hell are no threat to our eternal souls.  The believers (typified by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, or the Israelites) can pass through because Jesus is there for them.

The Typology

• Nebuchadnezzar is like the devil, who desires for the whole world to remain in subjection to him, and to NOT worship the One True God.
• Nebuchadnezzar’s image is like the image described in Revelation 13, that the whole world will be commanded by the devil to worship.
• The executioners who perished are like those in league with the devil, who Jesus will slay at His return.
• The “people, nations, and languages” represent the world and the sons of Adam who are unsaved and remain subject to the devil.
• The fourth man who appeared like the “Son of God” represents the Lord Jesus Christ as the Protector of all true believers (the elect of God), and it is Jesus Christ Who ensures that the fires of Hell have no power over them.  Jesus in effect “took the heat”, by enduring God’s wrath in Hell on behalf of, and in payment for the sins of, the elect of God (Jesus’s Bride, the Eternal Church, the Eternal Israel).
• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego represent all true believers, the elect of God, who are saved from God’s just wrath for their sins by the Grace of God through His Dear Son, Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.”  We see the devil trying to make the believer bow down to his idealized image of what men and women should be.  Christians must resist this with everything they have and pursue God’s ideal. In this, we will fulfill Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  Jesus warned in Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

There is a useful primer on Hell that can be found here: https://bereansearching.com/2017/01/30/is-there-an-eternal-hell/

Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of God, Which Is In Christ Jesus Our Lord

Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?

Romans 8:38&39,  “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”    

Matthew 28:18– 20, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the HolyGhost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Hebrews 13:5, “[Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (see also Genesis 28:15)

Today’s Application: Are You Ready?

            The Bible makes it clear that if God was willing to put His own Son through Hell to save a people for Himself, how much more would He be willing to send the wicked who reject Him to Hell for their sins.  God specifies in Proverbs 16:4,”The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil (Judgment Day).” Please also see Romans  8:32 through to the end of the chapter, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?“…  Jesus is the ONLY Way of escape from the just penalty for our sins.  All other ways that man can devise will lead only to Hell.  We all have to make peace with God through Jesus Christ!  The fires of Hell will have no effect on you if Jesus paid the supreme price for you.  Please pray to God for mercy through Jesus Christ and He will show you mercy.

Appendix:

Crossing the River Jordan with Joshua Provides Another Perspective (Similar to Moses Parting the Red Sea)

Let’s review Joshua, Chapters 3&4:

1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;

3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

7 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.

9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.

10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.

12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Then in Chapter 4:

14 On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,

16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.

17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.

18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.

21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.

The Ark of the Covenant represented the Word of God (it held the Manna from Heaven in a jar (Jesus Is the Manna from Heaven) , and the Ten Commandments in stone (the Word of God, Who is Jesus), and Aaron’s r

Romans 12:1. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.”  We see the devil trying to make the believer bow down to his idealized image of what men and women should be.  Christians must resist this with everything they have and pursue God’s ideal. In this, we will fulfill Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  Jesus warned in Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

There is a useful primer on Hell that can be found here: https://bereansearching.com/2017/01/30/is-there-an-eternal-hell/

POSTSCRIPT: Just as Isaiah’s prophesy was fulfilled with the Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego not being “literally” burned in the fiery furnace, so too all believers will not be burned “spiritually” by the fires of Hell. There is a corollary in the New Testament. In Mark 16:1, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Remember how this prophesy was fulfilled “literally” with Paul in Acts 28:3-6, but it continues “spiritually” with all believers today. The believers can come into the hearing of false gospels, the “poison of asps” (Romans 3:13) that is on the lips of those who do not bring the true Gospel of Salvation, but the believers will not be harmed because Jesus will protect them.

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