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you you you you you you you you you you a you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you amen for scripture reading please open your bibles to the book of Daniel Daniel chapter 3 Daniel chapter 3 and as our custom we will be reading the entire chapter Daniel chapter 3 please say amen if you are there amen Daniel chapter 3 verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was 3 square cubits and the breadth of 6 cubits he set it up in the plain of Jura in the province of Babylon then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors the captains, the judges, the treasurers the counselors, the sheriffs and the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up then the princes, the governors and captains the judges, the treasurers, the counselors the sheriffs and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together into the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up then an arrow cried out quite aloud to you it is commandment to all people, nations and languages that at what time you hear the sound of the cornets, flutes, harps sack butts, salt trees, dulcimer and all kinds of music you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up and it was so falleth not down and worship it shall at the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace at that time when all the people heard the sound of the cornets flutes, harps, sack butts, salt trees and all kinds of music all the people, the nations and the languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews they spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar oh king live forever thou oh king has made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornets flutes, harps, sack butts, salt trees and dulcimer all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image and it was so falleth not down and worshipeth that he shall be cast into the midst of a burning fire furnace there are certain Jews whom thou had set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, these men oh king have not regarded thee they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou had set up then Nebuchadnezzar and his regent fewer commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego then they brought these men before the king Nebuchadnezzar's pagans said unto them is it true, oh Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego do not he serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornets, flutes, harps sack butts, salt trees and dulcimer and all kinds of music he falls down and worships 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 fire furnace and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king oh Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this manner if it be so, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fire furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand oh king but if not, be it known unto the old king that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou which thou had set up then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury and the form of his visage which changed against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, therefore spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was want to be heated and commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fire furnace then these men were bound in their coats their hosen and their hats and their other garments were cast into the midst of the burning fire furnace therefore because the king's commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and these three men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell down down into the midst of the burning fire furnace then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors did not we cast three men bound in the midst of the fire they answered and said unto the king true oh king 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 a son of god then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fire furnace and spake and said Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego you servants of the most high god come forth and come hither then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came forth in the midst of the fire and the princes, governors and captains and the king's counselors being gathered together saw these men upon whose bodies said the fire had no power nor was a hair of their head singed neither were their coats changed nor the smell of fire passed on them then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said blessed be the god of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who had sent his angel and delivered his servants what trusted 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 therefore I make a decree that every people, nation and language would speak anything 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 sword and the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Bless the root of God's word let us pray Lord God in heaven we thank you Lord for this day it's given to us and I pray that you bless Lord for this day give us good weather for our soul winning and also Lord bless us bless our fellowship bless the preaching and the preacher of the Lord in Jesus name we pray, amen. Alright we're here in Daniel chapter 3 and last week's sermon was pretty in depth pretty complicated. This week's sermon is not as complicated but I am talking about end times prophecy because this chapter although it's a literal story that took place if you understand end times events you can tell there's this symbolism with the ultimate rapture and abomination of desolation and things like that. Let me give you a quick timeline of how the end times works. There's a period of seven years known as Daniel's 70th week it's something we're going to see later on in the book of Daniel so there's a seven year time period and it really kind of heats up midway through basically three and a half years in is when the antichrist is going to declare himself to be God there's going to be the abomination of desolation the mark of the beast 666 and all those things and at that point we will still be here right as long as we're alive and we have not passed away the rapture has not taken place yet we're going to be here and it's going to be the greatest persecution ever known to man and there's going to be 75 days before the rapture takes place okay this is the basic timeline of what the Bible says and then the rapture takes place to those that are alive and then God pours out his wrath on those who are left so the antichrist persecuting us is not God's wrath okay and this of course makes sense because throughout the Bible God's people go through persecution so it makes no sense to say during the end times everyone's going to escape persecution and tribulation it's never been that way it never will okay now here in Daniel chapter three verse number one and point number one is veneration, veneration to venerate means to basically worship or deeply respect too much okay Daniel 3 verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was three score cubits and the breath there of six cubits he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon so if you remember last week basically there's this dream that Nebuchadnezzar has and he's told you are this head of gold okay and then Nebuchadnezzar hears this and he's like okay I'll just make a giant image 60 cubits 90 feet tall of myself and not just the head of gold just the whole thing so you can see how this gets to his head because he's told that he's powerful right and all of a sudden he makes this image and he says hey you know what I'm the most powerful man in the world which is true but obviously that was not the point of the dream okay so he makes this image and he's requiring people to bow down and worship it now of course during the end times what's going to take place there's going to be one man who rules the world the antichrist and he's going to set up an image and you've got to take the mark of the beast and if you choose not to you're going to be killed right you can see the symbolism here in Daniel 3 verse number 2 then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes the governors and the captains the judges the treasurers the counselors the sheriffs and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up then the princes the governors and captains the judges the treasurers the counselors the sheriffs and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together onto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up now this is not an event that we see in our modern day but imagine if there was one person who ruled this world and basically he called the president of the US and the president of France and the queen of England and all of them came to this dedication of this image because basically Nebuchadnezzar rules the world and he's getting all these powerful people to come to this image and of course if they refuse to come what's he going to do? Well they're going to be executed. Now go to Revelation 13. Revelation 13. Revelation 13. Revelation chapter 13. And let me show you that this is exactly what we see in the book of Revelation. So there's the symbolism in Daniel 3 and in Revelation 13 if we live during this time period we will be required to worship an image and give our allegiance to the Antichrist and if not then we're going to be killed or they're going to try to kill us. Revelation 13 verse 14. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast. And so the Antichrist is going, this false prophet is going to deceive people with these miracles. And the Bible even says if it were possible he would deceive the very elect. Meaning it's not possible. As a saved person you're not going to believe in the Antichrist. You're going to realize he's fake. Even people that believe in a pre-trib rapture, when the Antichrist declares himself to be God they will not believe that that's God. Okay? Now they're probably going to be confused. Like what's going on? You're not supposed to already be gone and out of here. But they're going to realize it's not God obviously because if it were possible he'd deceive the very elect. Meaning it's not possible. But meaning it's very convincing. Look if somebody performed a miracle in front of you it's kind of hard to deny. Right? So you can see why people would buy into this especially if they're not saved. Okay? Then it says saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live and he had power to give life under 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. So there's idolatry in today's world but the difference here is that this idol is actually going to speak. And so the Bible speaks about the dumb idol which means it can't speak. It can't say anything. But during the end times this image is actually going to speak and people are going to believe this. Verse number 16 And he causeth all both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. So during the end times if you refuse to get this mark then basically you can't buy anything. You can't go to Robinson's. Right? You can't go to the mall. Right? Now I want you to realize this. There's certain events that you see where you're like, wow, I see these sorts of pictures but let me just be very clear. The mark of the beast has not happened. Right? I've literally known Christians that have asked you know, is this the mark of the beast having to get you know, a vaccine card or whatever. It's not the mark of the beast. Now you certainly see how governments having control and things like that. You can certainly see the push toward that but this is by no means the mark of the beast. Even in Sweden they literally got their chip in their hand or their arm or whatever. So basically they just kind of scan their vaccine card. It's not the mark of the beast. And actually in Sweden they've been doing that for a long time just not with vaccine cards but with other stuff where basically you put your work chip in your arm and stuff like that. But that's not the mark of the beast. Okay? During the end times no Christian though is actually going to take this mark. And the reason why is because you're basically giving your allegiance to the devil. It's something no Christian is actually going to be doing. Okay? Now turn in your Bible to Daniel 3. Daniel 3. Daniel chapter 3. But we certainly see the symbolism in Daniel 3. I mean Nebuchadnezzar sets up this image. He's the world ruler. Bow down or be executed. Right? Well that's exactly what's going to take place during the end times. Take this mark or you're going to be killed. Now here's the thing. Once the mark of the beast comes and the abomination of desolation I believe that some of us will live through it and some will be executed. I personally believe in preparing for retirement and things like that but you know it's not the time to prepare for retirement when the Antichrist declares himself to be God. You have 75 days and that's it. Right? You know basically just go down guns a blazing in a flame of glory symbolically speaking until you either get executed or just God miraculously saves you for a long period. Now let me give you some other parts of the world though where this sort of persecution is actually very realistic to them because they've already dealt with it. North Korea is an example. Christians get publicly executed in North Korea for preaching the gospel or trying to. There's an example of a woman by the name of Ri Hon Ok I don't know. My Korean is very bad okay so if I'm mispronouncing if somebody knows Korean I don't. Ri Hon Ok was executed in Rongchon on June 16, 2009 so 12 years ago or 13 years ago for giving out Bibles and this is a woman and her husband and children were sent to a prison camp and she was handing out Bibles. She was executed. Now technically speaking in North Korea they do have Christianity but what they have is they have churches where basically they have images of their leader and you've got to bow down and they've got public officials that attend the services to make sure they agree with everything that's said. Well look, if there was public officials that attended my preaching and we had an image of the leaders of the country that you had to bow down and worship, I mean how could I really preach a sermon? I mean what could I literally do? You cannot openly freely serve God in North Korea. Now that doesn't mean that nobody ever does sowing. I'm sure some people secretly do it like this woman who you know got executed for just handing out Bibles. It's illegal to do. Another example and another person was an American citizen Jeffrey Edward Foyle was in 2014 he was detained for leaving a Bible in a restroom and so it's illegal to leave a Bible in a restroom and so basically you know he got detained. Now usually what takes place in the U.S. is they're not going to harm an American usually. The reason being is because they don't want to start a war with the U.S. But there was an example a few years ago of an American that got tortured to death and he arrived back to the U.S. He immediately died and so what I'm showing you is that in certain parts of the world you don't have this sort of freedom. Another example is in Russia. Now look, I already wrote this sermon I have no idea about the Russia Ukraine situation. It's completely unrelated. What I do know is it is illegal to go soul winning in Russia. That's obviously a major problem. Right? This is what it says that they pronounced a ruling that it is illegal to share your faith in homes. It's illegal to share your faith online. Even to someone living out of the country. You're not even allowed to express what you believe online. Nothing on Facebook, no Skype or anything. The only place you're allowed to do it is inside of a church building. A recognized church building meaning an Orthodox church because it's Russian Orthodox as a religion it's illegal to preach the gospel. Now I know that in America sometimes they talk about, you know, people that are conservative that these good things about Russia because they're anti-Homo but I'd rather be able to preach the gospel in a country that's pro-Homo than a country that's anti-Homo but it's illegal to preach the gospel. Another example is in Malaysia. And look, I'm only giving you three examples. You can give like a hundred examples of this taking place. But in Malaysia the primary religion is Islam and there are Hindus, there are Christians, there are Buddhists, but it's illegal to convert from Islam to another religion and you might get put to death if you convert to another religion. Well I mean I'm pretty sure there's probably a lot of Muslims that actually do get saved and they just don't mention anything about it. Right? Now this is kind of a side point but I do know that in Saudi Arabia they had a really big selling book. It was the book by Richard Dawkins on the God Delusion which obviously Richard Dawkins is an atheist, obviously by no means will we promote him, but it actually had like over 5% of the population had bought a copy illegally online because it's illegal to read that book. What it shows is there's probably a lot of Muslims in these countries that realize this is the wrong religion but we cannot publicly say that because we're going to be executed. Right? This sort of person persecution takes place in the world. Daniel 3 verse 4 Daniel 3 verse 4 Now when you think about the end times the one religion that kind of perplexes me a bit of how they're going to fall for this is the religion of Islam. Because it's not really hard to see how Hinduism is going to fall for the Antichrist. Because they're literally looking for the return of the Antichrist. Islam is as well, when they describe the return it's all about the Antichrist whether they realize it or not, this man that brings peace, exactly like the Antichrist. But what's kind of perplexing about it is it's hard to see Islam kind of going along with other religions. Because in this world there's only two religions that are basically our way or the highway that are primary religions which is Islam and Christianity. Now of course with Christianity Catholics, they're like well who cares whether you're Catholic or not at this point. Right? But technically speaking Jesus said I am the way, the truth. Okay? With Islam it's kind of hard to see but you know when you think about it Islam already has a practice of worshiping an image. I mean they've got the Kaaba that they worship in Saudi Arabia where basically everybody must worship it and their prayers are directed toward Mecca. Right? Because it's picturing this stone that they're worshiping so honestly maybe it's not that big of a stretch for them to end up worshiping some other object one day either. Okay? Point number one is veneration. Basically you've got to worship Nebuchadnezzar and during the end times you've got to worship the Antichrist. Point number two is variance. Variance. Now turn to Matthew 10 and I'll show you what I'm talking about. Matthew 10. And when we're saying variance we're talking about a difference. And see what's going to take place is when you have an event like Nebuchadnezzar and he sets up this image, you've got two options. You either go along with it or you're against it. Right? There's no gray area situation where you're kind of forward and kind of, you're either forward or against it. Look when it comes to the end times and the mark of the beast, you're either forward or against it. You either take it or you reject it. Now as I said no saved person is going to take it but what I'm saying is the world is going to be left in that situation to either go along with it or reject it. There's no options. It's one of those two things. It's not like you can get the mark 66 in your hand. Right? You either get all three numbers or you get none. Right? It's not like you start and say I just want to stop. You know I got the number six. I got one of them. Right? I don't want to go further. You either do it or you don't. Right? When there's major events you've got to take a side. And it's the way it is in life as well with certain events you've got to decide what side of the fence are you on. Who is on the Lord's side? Are you on this side or are you on this side? And look during the end times when this image is set up people have got to make a choice. Now no saved person is going to take the mark but there are unsaved people that will not take the mark of the beast. There are some unsaved people that will and some unsaved that won't. Look there are people that are part of false religions just sincere Muslims sincere Hindus they think they're in the right religion and during the end times these events are going to take place and they're like this is not what I believe. This doesn't seem right. And when they're forced to take that mark guess what? A lot aren't going to take it. Look in today's world not everybody does what the government says. Right? Many people just say hey I don't believe in this I'm not going to do it. It's going to be the same thing during the end times and certain people say I'm not going to bow down to this. I'm not going to do it. I don't believe that this man is God. I'm not going to take the mark. Right? And some unsaved people would be willing to die for that stand. That's the reality. Even if they don't believe the things found in the Bible. Look when it comes to people that are Christians a lot of the unsaved are not going to take the mark. Now I believe probably a lot will but a lot are not going to. So see after the rapture takes place there's going to be 144,000 saved people to preach the gospel and there are going to be unsaved people that they can actually preach to that did not take the mark of the beast. Okay? Matthew 10 verse 34 and the Bible reads think not that I am come to send peace on earth I came not to send peace but a sword. Matthew 10 verse 35 for I am come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter in law against her mother in law. There's our second point right there. Variance. And a man's foe shall be they of his own household. Foe is like enemy or kaawai. But basically it says variance there in verse number 35 you say brother Stuckey what does this have to do with the end times? Matthew 10 is about the end times. It starts with soul winning and it transitions to the end times. You say well prove that to me. Well go back to verse number 16. Verse 16. And this is actually very important because there's a very major false doctrine taught in Matthew 10. Matthew 10 verse 16 behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Verse 17 but beware of men for they will deliver you up to the councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues and you should be brought before governors and kings for my sake for testimony against them and the gentiles. 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. For it is not ye that speak but the spirit of your father which speaketh in you. You say brother Stuckey what does this have to do with the end times? Well keep reading. Verse 21. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death and the father of the child and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city flee you into another for verily I say unto you ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man become. What's that referring to? It's referring to the end times. And the Bible often does this that it transitions from something and then it also talks about the end times or there's dual applications, dual prophecies and things like that. Now look this is very important because of the end of verse 22. Notice what the Bible says. He that endureth to the end shall be saved. Now who has sat in a church service before and you've heard the preacher say, well you know you got to endure to the end if you want to make it to heaven. I mean if you want to be saved you got to endure to the end. Who's heard that before? Many people. Right? Hands all over the room. You've heard preachers say that. Well we just saw in Matthew 10 that it's referring to the end times because the next verse says till the Son of Man become. So let's look at a very clear place. Go to Matthew 24 and we're going to see what this actually means. Matthew 24. In fact this phrase enduring to the end to be saved appears three times in your Bible. One time is in Matthew 24 which is an end times reference. One time is in Mark 13 end times. And one is in Matthew 10. And Matthew 10 is the one where people get confused because there's a whole chapter in Matthew on the end times. But Matthew 10 transitions and also talks about the end times. He directly talks to his disciples about soul winning but it also serves another purpose as well. Matthew 24 look at verse 13. But he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved. So you see that same phrase. Look when you see a verse that you don't understand first thing you do look at the context of the verse. Because what we believe and teach is salvation is just by believing. What must I do to be saved and they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. That's it. It doesn't say believe and endure. It doesn't say believe and live a good life. It says hey to be saved believe. Now here's the thing. When is the moment that we are actually saved from hell? Well once we die we don't go to hell we go to heaven. But you get that salvation the moment you believe. It's a present tense now thing but it saves you from the future hell. To be saved it happens in a moment. You believe on Jesus and you're saved and what that means is you're never going to go to hell. So receiving everlasting life means that you're going to be in heaven being saved means you're not going to be in hell which are one and the same. So here's the thing. If the Bible says all you have to do to be saved is believe then the Bible cannot also teach that you've got to endure to the end and live a good life until the day you die because that would be a contradiction. Well let's look at what it says in verse number 9. Matthew 24. Well actually look at verse number 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows. And if you're not familiar I mean this chapter starts off they're asking about the return of Jesus. Clearly an end times chapter that's being referred to. Verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and you should be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Now let me ask you a question. In verse 9 is this in reference to physical or spiritual when it says they're going to kill you? Physical. I mean if he says we're going to kill you then that's physical. Verse 10. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another and many false prophets shall abound. The love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure to the end the same shall be saved. So the context is physical salvation. It's not spiritual because he talks about killing you. So he's saying if you endure to the end you're going to be physically spared from being killed. You say well what is that talking about then? Well it's in reference to the end times. And look as someone who believes in a post-Trib rapture it's not confusing. Now look if you're pre-Trib here today you might get very confused with this sermon. Because nothing in the Bible is going to make sense about the end times to you. I mean if you're pre-Trib when you read Revelation it's like there's a veil over your eyes. Like this is so complicated. Like what is going on? Like why is it they say they came out of great tribulation? I mean we don't go through tribulation. I mean that doesn't make sense. Like what is going on? Right? Nothing's going to make sense to you when you're reading end times if you're pre-Trib because it's just not what the Bible teaches. What the Bible's saying when you're enduring to the end you're going to be saved. What it's saying is hey when these things take place and there's the abomination of desolation and all this persecution, if you endure to the end of that 75 days you're going to be saved from physical death. How's that possible? Doesn't everybody die? Well not the people that get raptured. Look when you get raptured you don't get killed right before you get raptured. It's not like God kills you and takes you to heaven. You don't die. Now your body has changed because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We know that. What I'm saying is this. What the Bible's teaching is if you endure through that tribulation and you make it to the end to the point where Christ returns you're going to be raptured. You're going to be saved. Well here's the thing when it comes to enduring to the end we don't really believe that's really on our own part to endure to the end. I don't think the Bible's teaching buy a bunch of shotguns and go up to the woods and try to make it to the end because what's the purpose? It's only going to be 75 days anyway. At that point just go soul winning until the end. If you get killed, you get martyred you get a crown and if you last through it then you get raptured. Realistically if this happens in our lifetime I believe some of us will be martyred and some of us will last to the end and get raptured. Now look, when we had our list at the Sweetheart banquet of questions and talked about the biggest fear we had like I can't remember, spiders and all these other claustrophobia I mean here's the thing being tortured to death was not on the list because it's not all that realistic it's not going to happen. It's not something we deal with on a daily basis. But realistically I'd be much more afraid of being tortured to death than high places. I don't think anybody wants to be tortured to death. But that's what's going to take place during the end times. I mean our only hope if we end up getting killed is it's just quick and easy and it's over because nobody wants to get tortured to death. But you know throughout this world throughout human history this has taken place to save people. I mean in the past the Catholic church would murder you for getting baptized. And they didn't just kill you. Because even in the Bible when people get put to death they're just stoned to death really quickly. They're not tortured to death. Right? I mean God doesn't condone of torturing. I mean they're just put to death, stoned to death and that's it. But throughout human history the Catholic church their torture techniques were very brutal. Right? I mean I remember looking at a list of the 10 biggest torture techniques of the Catholics and honestly most of them had never come into my mind that somebody would think of that. The only ones that came into my mind are things that I'm already aware of like being crucified and things like that because we hear about that. But the other ones is like who even dreams this up? Somebody who's got a reprobate mind. Right? I mean some of the things for example you know probably the most painful thing I've experienced is getting burned. Right? I mean if you touch something very hot like an oven and you burn your finger I mean it's like the most painful thing. I remember as a kid one time I burned my finger and for like three hours I had the pain on my finger and I just put ice on it but that really doesn't do much. It's like I hate to break it to the rich man but that drop of water's not going to do much for you. Right? And I literally was just walking around my house just back and forth just to try to not think of the pain. It was like the most painful thing was a small burn. Right? What they've done in human history to torture people, they burn people to death but they don't burn people in a couple minutes. What they do is they'll use like wet grass and they burn you over a period of 24 hours is what it takes to kill you. Just torturing you to death. I mean that would be like the most painful thing you could experience. And look this is something that could happen in our lifetime. If the Antichrist comes back very likely you're going to be tortured to death not just quickly killed. Right? Now where are we Turn back to Matthew 10. Matthew 10. Matthew chapter 10. Now look I'm by no means in this sermon promoting Nebuchadnezzar because obviously he's really wicked in this sermon. But at least he heated up the furnace seven times more than it was supposed to be heated. He didn't cool it down so they'd be in that furnace for like 24 hours dying. He's like let's just get rid of him. Right? Matthew chapter 10. And go back to number 17. But beware of men for they will deliver you up to the councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And what the Bible is saying even though he's talking to his actual disciples there that are going out preaching the gospel. This references to the end times and of course this could take place in our life. But the idea is that these rulers of the world they're the ones that are going to determine your fate. And the Bible is saying beware. Be careful. These people could put you to death. They could harm you. Right? And so it's very obvious in Matthew 10 when it's talking about delivering you up to the councils this has nothing to do with spiritual salvation. It has to do with physical salvation. Now the main religion that teaches this is the Calvinists. And they teach well the only proof of your salvation is if you persevere on to the end and you must endure to the end to be saved. So according to them you cannot know if you're saved until you die. It's impossible. I mean they'll literally say because it's kind of a quandary for them because they know the Bible says you can know you're saved. But then they'll say well the only proof is that you endure on to the end because you could seem like you're saved. You could be in church for 40 years. Soloing every week, reading the Bible, praying to God. You say you believe in Jesus and then right before you die you kind of backside and then well you were never saved. I mean it's foolishness. Why would the Bible say that you can know you have eternal life and why would the Bible say that you're saved the moment you believe? You say how do you know it's the moment that you believe? Well I mean the Bible says he that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life which is present tense. And the Bible says he may know that you have eternal life because here's the thing when you believe you know. I know I'm saved. We talk to people sometimes and they'll say well nobody knows. What an arrogant thing to say that you know you're going to heaven. Actually I'm not the one that's arrogant because I'm not saying my good works is what saves me. They're the ones that are arrogant whether they realize it or not because they're trusting in themselves. And the Bible says very clearly you can know for sure you're going to save. It never says you have to endure on to the end to be saved. Look if somebody left our church and became a drunk I would not question their salvation. Now I would say they're obviously not living for God. That doesn't mean that they're not saved. Why would that negate their salvation because they're drinking alcohol? What does that have to do with believing? Right? Isn't salvation whosoever believing? So what does drinking alcohol have to do with believing? There are drug addicts that are going to be in heaven. And look people get mad at that statement but it's the truth. There are drunks and drug addicts and people committing all manner of sin that we're going to see in heaven one day. You say why? Because salvation comes down to what you believe. It's that simple. Turn back to Daniel 3. Daniel 3. And what people do at churches, somebody will stop coming to church and then they'll say well maybe they were never saved because they just stopped coming to church. Now look I'm not saying that you could never question because the Bible does say that you can judge between a reprobate and a child of God based on like really wicked actions they would do or things that would seem like they might be a child of the devil. But somebody quitting going to church that has nothing to do with being a child of the devil. Okay that's ridiculous. If somebody quits our church I'm not just going to be like yeah well they're just a reprobate. Right? I mean they were never saved. That's the reason why they quit our church. No they're just backsliding. Now if you quit going to church obviously you're backsliding though. I mean I think that's pretty obvious. But that doesn't mean that you're a reprobate. It doesn't mean that you're not saved. Look I know somebody I got saved in college and this was actually the cousin of you know one of my good friends. Actually the cousin of Pastor Jason Robinson. It was my birthday one time. I think it was like 20 or 21 years old and you know he was like up in college hanging out with you know Pastor Robinson and then his younger brother and I was there you know I was friends with him and everything. And I remember telling him like hey you know can I talk to you about something? And I didn't even know this guy. You know he was just up there. I just met him a couple minutes before. He's like about what? I was like well it's my birthday. Right? So just you know talk to me for a couple minutes. It's my birthday. That's your present to me. He's like okay. So he went to the other room and then gave him the gospel and he got saved. Right? So I was really zealous to try to preach the gospel to him and obviously it's hard if it's your family so it was easier for me to preach the gospel to him. But you know this guy you know later on in life you know and he's not like this now like he's working and everything like that but you know he got addicted to alcohol. Started drinking and everything like that. Look I never questioned his salvation because if you had talked to him he still would have said I believe. If you had asked him what does it take to get to heaven he'd say believe. Doesn't matter what your lifestyle is. That doesn't affect whether or not you're going to heaven. Now look if you came up to someone that you thought was saved and you said hey what do you have to do to get to heaven and they said well you got to live a good life. Well then question their salvation. But if they're living a life of sin there's no reason to question their salvation because that has nothing to do with salvation. Salvation is what do you believe? And if you believe the right thing you're saved. It's that simple. Daniel chapter 3 verse 7. Therefore at that time when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack but sultry and all kinds of music all the people, the nations and the languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Nebuchadnezzar sets up this image and everybody bows down and worships it except Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These sorts of situations will cause variance. Basically you've got to decide are you going to worship the image? Or are you not going to do it? Right? Now look I personally believe that in the time of Daniel 3 there could have been saved people that actually did worship the image. Now I'm going to show you later on very clearly nobody in the end times is going to take the mark of the beast or worship the image that is saved. But there are many people that have backed down on their faith throughout human history. It doesn't mean that they're not saved. There are people throughout human history that were basically told you're going to be put to death unless you recant of Christianity. And they did recant of Christianity and they weren't killed and they talked about how guilty they felt afterwards because they had decided to deny Jesus when they were put to the test. Even Peter said, I don't know the man. Right? I mean he denied Jesus three times. Now that doesn't change what he believed on the inside. It just means that he backed down in a difficult situation. In the days of Nebuchadnezzar I mean I don't know all these people that are there. It sounds like a lot of people are there though. I'd say there's probably other saved people. I don't believe that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the only four saved people that were brought. I believe that there were other saved people that just didn't really do much for God. Right? Now I could be wrong on that. The Bible doesn't explicitly say, but I do believe there's probably saved people that just decided to bow down for their own life. I mean a great example in the Bible is Naaman. Right? In 2 Kings 5 Naaman gets healed and afterwards, and I believe he believes. It sounds like he believes in the true God after that event. It sounds like he puts his faith on the Lord and gets saved, but he says Elisha, please forgive me because I'm still going to go into the temple of my false god because I've got a job and my boss is going to be mad at me. And I'd imagine as Elisha he's probably thinking, yeah, I've heard that a hundred times before. Go ahead. Do whatever you want. Right? And basically he's worried about his own life and he's worried about his job, but based on what he says, it sounds like he's saved. Look, there are people that do that. I believe there are Catholics that get saved in this country and they still pretend to be Catholic because of their family. And they won't publicly state it. I promise you this happens in the Muslim world. I mean if a Muslim converts to Christianity, they're probably still going to say they're Muslim. Why? They don't want to be killed. In Malaysia it's illegal to convert from Islam to Christianity. They're going to kill you. Of course people fake it. Right? So look, this sort of thing happens and I believe during the days of Nebuchadnezzar there's probably saved people that just chose to worship the image and they justified it in their mind. Well, I don't want to be put to death. I mean if I get killed now, I can't serve God the next 20 years of my life. It's probably what they said. Well, you're not serving God now either. Because if you back down in a situation like this, you're never going to stand up. That's reality. Verse 8. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. And so the Chaldeans see the opportunity to basically accuse the Jews because they're not worshipping the image. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack, but sultry, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the image. And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast in the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast said over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Now, when I was reading this chapter and memorizing this chapter, it kind of stood out to me the way these guys are talking to Nebuchadnezzar because it's just the way they talk, they just subtly always criticize other people to lift themselves up. Because what they said, for example, in verse number 12 is, there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs. Here's the thing, they didn't have to say the words thou hast set. They could have just said there are certain Jews that are over the affairs of the province of Babylon, and yet out of their mouth they subtly criticize Nebuchadnezzar. You say, why? Because when you criticize somebody, it elevates you. Right? If I criticize somebody at church subtly, it makes me look better. Can you believe so-and-so doesn't read the Bible? Well, that makes me look good because I'm implying I do read the Bible. Right? And this is the way they talked in Daniel 1, it's the way they always talk, because these are bad people, and they just subtly say, whom thou hast set over the affairs. They didn't have to say that. But they're doing that because they're lowering other people to lift themselves up. Look, if you hear people in life that criticize other people, you should not think highly of those people. You should really question those people. That's reality. The people I've experienced in the past, you know, in the ministry, what I've experienced in the Philippines, at our churches, when we've had problems with people, those people would always do that. They subtly criticize other people. Why do they do that? Because they want to look good. And since they're not good, they've got to criticize other people to make themselves look good. Right? That's what I've experienced with those sorts of people, and look, you'll see this in life. Be very careful. Pay attention to the words that people say out of their mouths. If somebody's always criticizing other people, you should be offended that they're criticizing your fellow church member. I mean, people that would just pick apart sermons, and I can think of examples where basically they would, they'd hear a sermon and just kind of say, yeah, they messed up during that part of the sermon. Well, what's your point of saying that? I mean, I misspeak all the time. I say things that are wrong. I've gone back and listened to my sermons, and I've preached whole sermons against repentance of sins, and then there's like a 15-second clip where I say their exact wrong thing. And it's just misspeaking. It happens. I mean, I don't know whether they do or not. I mean, it's a good thing they should do it, but the men at our church that preach, if they pay attention and go back to listen to their sermons, they're probably going to hear a lot of misspeaking and mistakes. I mean, things they didn't mean, and they just kind of said it wrong. And they just kind of went against what they were saying. I mean, literally, I've heard in sermons, people stand up and say things like, and I've done this. It's like, well, we still believe in street preaching, and they meant to say, so winning, or mean, we don't believe in street preaching, and then they say the opposite. Right? And look, this happens, and you've got to be, you've got to be long-suffering. And look, this is a lesson I learned, because before I was a preacher, I was a little bit rougher on people. But now, after preaching, and I hear my sermons, I'm like, man, I make a lot of mistakes, okay? Sometimes people just misspeak. Now turn in your Bible to Esther 3. Esther 3. Esther 3. And as we turn to Esther 3, I'll just finish that verse where it says, these meadow king have not regarded thee, they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Look, this is what's going to happen during the end times. I mean, if somebody has the mark of the beast, and somebody else doesn't, they're going to betray one another. Right? They're going to say, hey, so and so didn't get the mark of the beast. And they'll turn you into the police. That's exactly what's happening in Daniel 3. The people that choose to worship this image are going to basically betray the ones that don't. And the Bible says, even within family, brothers betraying brothers, fathers betraying sons and daughters, children betraying fathers and mothers. This is what's going to take place during the end times. And look, it's actually happened in human history before as well. We see it in Daniel 3. I mean, it was very famous in Russia of this taking place when they had the gulags, where basically your neighbors and coworkers would turn you in if you didn't do what the government said. And look, I'm sure it's happening all over the world today as well. Esther 3 verse 2. Esther 3 verse 2. And all the king's servants that were in the king's gate bowed in reverence Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him, but Mordecai bowed not, nor did in reverence. Now look, my perspective is, hey, you know what? Everyone has their own right whether or not they want to bow or not. I'm not going to bow down before Haman, but if somebody wants to do that go for it. Doesn't affect me. I believe in having freedom. Now I do believe that you can do certain things where God would say you get punished for it, but I'm saying in your general life, I think it's up to you. I preach a lot of stuff behind the pulpit, but you know what? It's up to you whether or not you want to listen to rock music. It's up to you whether or not you want to smoke. It's up to you whether or not you go soul winning. Now I preach what the Bible says, but I don't go to your personal homes and say no, no, no, no, no. You got to get rid of this, because it's up to you. Right? But these people, they bow before Haman, and since Mordecai doesn't, they turn in Mordecai. And it says in verse 3, Then the king's servants which were in the king's gate said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandments? Now let me say this, that I do believe that we should in general follow the government as long as they don't cause us to sin, and as long as they don't restrict us from serving God. But if you're being told to bow down before man, that's a sin. Right? No question about it. And they say you're transgressing. Well sin is the transgression of the law. But here's the thing, this isn't what the law of God says. God says don't bow down before any man. Right? So they're saying you're sinning, you're doing wrong because you're not doing what the government says. Well the government's asking them to do wrong. If the government tells you to sin, you don't sin. Right? I mean in many countries it's illegal or it's been illegal in the past to read the Bible. Look, if the government made a law saying it's illegal to read the Bible, don't listen to it. If the government says it's illegal to pray, don't listen to it. If the government says it's illegal to go soul-willing, don't listen to it. Now you might have to use wisdom in those situations. I'm not saying, hey it's illegal to read the Bible, go in front of a police station with your Bible. I'm not saying that. Obviously, you know, wisdom, wise as serpents, harmless as doves, you know, sheep in the midst of wolves, we understand that. But look, if the government is trying to prevent you from serving God or asking you to sin, well then you don't listen to that. Verse 4, Now it came to pass when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto him, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. And I don't have time to go into the whole story, but it's the same thing you see in Daniel 3, same thing we're going to have in the end times where people are going to betray you. Now turn back to Daniel 3. So point number one, we see veneration. In the days of Nebuchadnezzar, they were told they must worship this image, right, this giant statue of Nebuchadnezzar, this gold statue. In the end times, what are we going to see? We're going to see one man ruling the world requiring you to worship his image. And look, just as the Antichrist is going to have the false prophet and helpers behind him, it's the same way with Nebuchadnezzar. He has certain people that are basically enforcing these rules to make sure they take place. Number two, we see variance. You have big situations like this, it's going to cause you to be on one side of the fence. Same thing in Daniel 3, same thing during the end times. You either take the mark or you don't. Point three, we see a verdict. Now a verdict would be like in a courtroom where the judge declares what the sentence is, innocent, guilty, how many years in jail. And basically in Daniel 3, the person who gives the verdict is Nebuchadnezzar because he makes the rules. He rules the world. Daniel 3 verse 13, Then Nebuchadnezzar and his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. 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? Now if ye be ready, at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackpot, sultry, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made. Well, but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour in the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Now, Nebuchadnezzar is in a situation, because if you pay attention to verse 15, although he's going to put these people to death, he actually likes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And the reason why I know that is he gives them a second chance. I don't believe he would have given everybody a second chance. I think he would have just said, Hey, I already said I'm going to put you to death. But the problem for Nebuchadnezzar is the fact that he made this ruling, and he's got all these rulers of the world in front of him, and now he's embarrassed. And he gets angry about it, but he basically looks like a fool. Because if you're the ruler of the world and you make this law, and then just three people refuse to do it, you've got to make a decision. And he decides he's going to put him to death like he said he was going to do. Go to Revelation 14. Revelation 14. Revelation chapter 14. I think this shows just an example about how nobody is designed to have this much power. It's not good for you. Now, look, if you were the ruler of the world, I hope you wouldn't be like Nebuchadnezzar, but I promise you, you probably wouldn't be as godly of a person. You're not designed to have that much power. It's not good for you. When you have too much power, it gets to your head. You start getting myabang in the flesh, you think you're something special when you're not. Revelation 14, verse 9. And let me just prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that no saved person will take the image of the beast, the mark of the beast. Revelation 14, verse 9. And the third angel followed him, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast in his image and whosoever receive the mark of his name. Now a few things we can see here. Taking the mark is not accidental. Because you've got to worship the beast. It's not something where you accidentally got the mark. Right? Like, oh man, I didn't realize that. Now I got the mark of the beast. What am I going to do? No, you're deciding to worship the Antichrist. And look, everybody knows about this event. Even people that don't believe the Bible, they're not saved, they've heard of the mark of the beast. I mean, many of the famous rock songs in the 70s and 80s would sing songs promoting the mark of the beast. But everybody knows what the mark of the beast is. Everybody knows 666, the mark of the beast, the Antichrist. Whether they believe it or not, they're aware of it. When people take the mark of the beast, it's not an accident. And look, I get it. I've seen various videos on YouTube where they'll say, well, in the barcode you've got the number 666. That's not taking the mark of the beast, though. It very well could have those numbers in the barcode, and maybe there's a meaning behind that. Maybe it's not an accident. I don't really know. But what I do know is you don't accidentally take the mark of the beast. It's something where there's this image, it's a very public thing, he declares himself to be God, you're aware of it, and then people make their decision whether they're going to take the mark or not. As I said, no saved person's going to take it. I say, how do you know that? Well, number one, in Revelation 14, the Bible's very clear, every person who takes this is going to go to hell. Whosoever takes this, if any man worships the beast in his image, if any man does this and receives his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. It doesn't say they might. It says they will. Everybody who takes this mark is going to go to hell. Every single person. Well, here's the thing, is it possible for a saved person to go to hell? No. We have eternal life. Never ends. We have everlasting life. God promised us we're saved from hell. So we could never, I mean, with a gift, there's no exchange for a gift. It can't be taken back. So God promised us eternal life, and he also promised us that everyone who takes the mark is going to go to hell. What that shows you is there might be certain things that a saved person's never going to do. And this is a very primary example. Now, by all means, when it comes to the average sin, it's possible for a saved person even to commit murder or suicide. But it is not possible for a saved person to take the mark of the beast, because everyone who takes it is going to go to hell. Go back to Daniel 3. Daniel 3. Now, I've heard some interesting preaching is what I'll say from Baptist preachers that are dispensationalists, where they say it's possible to take the mark, but not go to hell. But you've got to remove the mark after you get it. And so what they'll say is, hey, I mean, if you take the mark, you know, in your hand or your arm, you've got to just cut it off. You've got to remove the mark. And they'll always use some sort of Bible verse. There's that passage in the Sermon on the Mountain and a few other places, and I preached a sermon series on it where it says, you know, cut off the hand, pluck out the eye, and they go to that and say, well, see, if you take the mark of the beast, you better cut off that arm. It's like, I mean, can you imagine if somebody thinks they accidentally took the mark of the beast, like they're confused on the vaccine cards or whatever, and they're like, oh, no, I got it in my arm. Now I better cut off my arm, right? Because their Baptist preacher told them, hey, cut that arm off, right? But it's just like, look, if you take the mark of the beast, even if your arm gets cut off, you're still a reprobate. Nothing's going to change that. I mean, you can cut off both arms and both legs. It's not going to do anything. And what they'll say is if you take the mark in your forehead, because obviously you can't obviously you can't cut off your head, but you've got to pluck out the eye. And somehow when you pluck out the eye, I guess you can go inside the eye and remove the mark. It's like, what are you talking about? I mean, these are Baptist churches that preach this. This is the dispensational preachers that preach salvation's different in different time periods, and during the end times, salvation is don't take the mark of the beast, and if you do, cut off the arm, you know, pluck out the eye and remove that mark from your forehead. It's like, I don't think it's that easy to remove that from your forehead. Okay, apparently they think it is, but anyways. Verse number 16, Daniel 3, verse 16. And of course these are preacher and people that teach that. Look, if you just believe what the Bible says in Revelation, just take it very simply. And look, I understand people get confused in this doctrine because they've heard a lot of false things. The basic thing, if you're reading Revelation, is just that there's a seven-year time period and Christians are around for most of it. The first three and a half years are the beginning of sorrows, and at that point, nobody knows for sure if they're in the end times. You can see a lot of events unfolding. I mean, there's a lot of questions I've seen over the last couple years. Is this the end times? Is this the end times? You see certain events. I myself said that if I lived a hundred years ago during the Spanish flu, which was right along with World War I, I would have thought that the beginning of sorrows had started. Because you've got famines, pestilences, I mean, you've got war, I mean, it seemed to fit perfectly with the first three and a half years. The thing is, nobody ever declared themselves to be God in the Temple of God in Jerusalem. It didn't happen. So as a saved person living during that time period, you'd realize if you know the Bible, well, it obviously isn't the end times, right? Three and a half years in, the Antichrist is going to set up the abomination of desolation, the mark of the beast. A very public event. It's not something that people are not going to be aware of. Everybody's going to be aware of it, okay? Then you've got to make your choice. If you take the mark of the beast, I mean, a saved person's not going to do that, but if an unsaved takes the mark of the beast, they have a ticket to hell. They're never going to go to heaven. They're not going to be saved. Us, we're not going to take the mark of the beast, but the government's going to want to kill us, okay? You've got 75 days of this great tribulation, and if you reach the end, if you endure to the end, you're going to be saved via a rapture, and you're not going to be killed, and God is going to pour out his wrath. And when this, because the Bible says, you know, we're not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. And the analogy I've given before about a thief is that when a thief robs your house, you're not aware of it. You don't expect it. It probably happens at nighttime. It's probably in the dark. But us, we're like a person who's aware it's going to take place. We've got a gun ready. We're waiting for them to open the door. They open the door, because it doesn't overtake us as a thief. We're aware of it. Say, well, how are you aware of this? Well, because of the fact the Antichrist has to declare himself to be God. I mean, look, even during the New Testament times, I mean, Peter was told he lived to be an old man. Peter obviously didn't believe in a preacher of rapture, because he said he was told he was going to be martyred before that event would take place. I mean, there were certain things they knew were going to take place. And these things have not taken place. The Lord is not going to return at the end of this service. I promise you. Right? Now, I don't think we're in Daniel's 70th week right now, but what I'm saying is, you know, even if the Antichrist came today, which it will not happen, there's still 75 days left until the rapture. That's what the Bible teaches. And look, this is what the Bible says about Daniel being wise in these events, and those that are wise know these things. I mean, many of you are listening to this and you're saying, amen, that's what I read in my Bible. It makes sense from Genesis to Revelation. It fits with everything. It's just perfect. It's like a puzzle that just fits together. Now, somebody that's pre-Trib, they've got a puzzle, but they're combining, like, all these puzzles together. It's like, why doesn't this fit? It's like you got the wrong puzzle. It doesn't work. Daniel 3, verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer the endless matter. Now, when they say we're not careful, what they mean is they're not cautious. It's kind of like if there is broken glass on the ground, then you would be very careful not to step on it, right? You don't want to get hurt. Well, what they're saying is we're not careful. We're just going to tell you what we think. Because here's the thing, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were normally very respectful to King Nebuchadnezzar, which is probably why King Nebuchadnezzar liked them. But here they say, you know what, we're not careful. We're not going to back down. We're not going to go in between. We're going to make it very clear we're not going to do this. 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. In verse 17, what they're saying is this, if it's God's choice to deliver us, then He's definitely able to. And yet, He will deliver us. So basically in verse 17, what they're saying is God might deliver us. He's certainly powerful enough to do it. He certainly will do it if it's His choice, but He might not. Right? Verse 18, But if not, be it known unto the O King that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou has set up. And what they're saying here in Daniel 3 is, you know what, we're willing to burn. We're willing to burn rather than bow, rather than back down and worship the Antichrist. We're willing to die for what we believe. Look, in 2022, things have been pretty crazy the last couple years. But it's nothing compared to Daniel 3. Right? I know I'm preaching on the end times, but as I said, I'm preaching through Daniel because I want us to look at our present situation and see what real persecution is and what's going on in the world. I mean, all you have to do is look at other parts of the world. I mean, if I was a missionary in a Muslim country or a Hindu country or a Jewish country, I would not last very long. They'd burn me to death in India, which they've done to Christian missionaries before. They'd cut off my head in Muslim countries. Look, in 2022 in the Philippines, we don't have much persecution. I'm not saying I agree with everything that's taken place or all the rulings that take place, but what I'm saying is, look at our bulletin of how many salvations that we have. I mean, there's a lot of things that make it more difficult, but there's nothing where we're getting put to death. There's nothing where we're getting arrested. Right? They're not going to arrest you for preaching the gospel. It's not going to happen here in the Philippines in 2022. It would be very, very unlikely to take place. I don't think it's ever happened to anybody at our church. I remember, I think it was last year, it sort of almost happened, but they're like, you know, we'll just get a picture to say that we did this, even though, you know, you're not really arrested or whatever. That didn't happen to me. But what I'm saying is there's never been any persecution in the Philippines that we've dealt with. Right? We don't have much persecution. You know what that means? We don't have any excuses not to serve God. You can't say, well, you know what, I can't read the Bible because it's illegal. It's not illegal. I can't read the Bible because I don't have one. You have it on your cell phone. I mean, look, if you have a smartphone, you probably have the Bible on your cell phone. And look, if you don't, it's not that expensive to get a Bible, and our church can give you the money to get a Bible. Okay? It's not a problem whatsoever. You have a Bible, there's no excuse. It's not illegal to pray like it was in Daniel's day in Daniel 6. It's not illegal to go soul winning. There's no excuses not to serve God in 2022. We've got to look at our situation and realize it's just not that bad here in the Philippines in 2022. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see your word in this topic, and help us to apply this to our lives, God. Help us to live our lives with boldness and not back down, but just willingly stand up for what's right and not back down. Thank you. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. When Jesus comes, there'll be no dark valley. Together is love once more, together is love once more. Let me know our value in Jesus' heart, together is love once more. Let me know our value in Jesus' heart, together is love once more. Let me know our value in Jesus' heart, together is love once more.