Coming Thru The Furnace of Fire
The widely taught story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is known to almost all professing Christians. This is a wonderful story of faith and placing our trust in God. I see an additional message that is less frequently taught that is as universally applicable and helps fully define what true faith and true trust really means. The untaught lesson is the one on overcoming.
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death
This passage from the Book of Revelation describes the true children of God who overcame the dragon (Satan) that was cast to the earth and prosecutes God’s church (the woman) and His children. These saints reaped eternal life because they died to themselves and loved not their life even when faced with death. They willingly submitted themselves to the Lord and like Him carried their cross to their death and walked into the furnace of fire rather than bowing to Satan, his image and the false gods that sit exalted and calls itself religion.
The water of lies is being poured out in increasingly proportions and many who thought they were on a solid foundation are being shaken down to the ground. They are on the wrong rock and our being destroyed for lack of knowledge of truth. The purpose of this post is define and show what is meant by overcoming. We must overcome to receive our crowns of life on the Day of Judgment.
Nobody gets a free pass just for saying words of praise or worship with their lips. ALL must come through the fiery furnace and pass the tests and trials that God has purposefully put between us and Him. These tests and trials are the fiery furnace and the allegory of the one foretold in the well-known story about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I will get to this story a little later in this post.
The Fiery Furnace Purifies
Once we come thru the furnace we will be empowered with the FIRE of the Holy Spirit. That is how Jesus walked out of the wilderness, in the POWER of the Spirit. This is how we do the works of Jesus and even greater works. But we need the power of the Spirit of God.
Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit
This power only comes after we come thru the devil’s fire. This is why Christianity has lost all of its power that Jesus promised us we would have. We have not purged out sin, we have not overcome and hence the power of the Holy Spirit and His Fire is not working in us. This is a bad spot to be in when the flood is unleashed in the end times. We will easily be deceived and many already have as the flood is already pouring out.
Coming thru the furnace God put between us and the tree of life is how we are purified and made Holy being full of the Spirit. This is the Lord’s will for all of us and we must pursue this holiness at all costs in order to see Him. The furnace is how we are made pure and holy, it is what burns out all the impurities from our wicked sinful nature and prepares us for eternal life with the Lord. Nothing impure will enter the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem. Jesus comes back for a pure and spotless bride, holy and blameless. The only way is thru the fire.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you
Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Malachi 3:2-3 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3“He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness.
Hebrews 10:31-33 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, 33partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
The devil has spoken lies through our churches and false teachers all in the name of religion. These lies tell us salvation is a cakewalk and that we do not need to overcome sin and lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. This false religion tells us we can stay married to our flesh and be married to Jesus, walking as harlots and adulteress’s and enter the Kingdom. On the last day, very many will be disappointed and aghast at the deception they drunk their entire life. They had a form of godliness, meaning they were religious but they denied the power of Christ and His Spirit to transform them into a new creation. As a result, they never came through the furnace, they did not overcome, they did not die to self, their fleshly lusts were never put to death. They worshipped Jesus in vain.
1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
The Enemy is the Furnace
The “him” spoken of in the opening Revelation 12 passage above, is the dragon and the powers of darkness. These creations of the Lord serve the Most High and as I showed in God’s Mighty Army are God’s instruments of testing and judgment upon all that dwell on the earth. The powers of darkness are the wrath of God, they are the smoke of His judgment and they bring the fire that scorches and withers faith. This same fire that scorches also purifies if we stand on faith planted securely on the Rock Eternal. After the fall of Adam and man’s exclusion from Eden, God placed His Mighty Servants to guard the path to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
This is a deep mystery, the mystery of lawlessness that is hidden deep in the Scriptures but is now being revealed in the end times. The peals of thunder that John heard in Revelation I believe was this secret that God chose not reveal and specifically told John not to write about.
Revelation 10:4 When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.”
I recently wrote that the wise will never ever see this truth, that the powers of darkness work for the Lord and serve Him in carrying out His righteous judgments and His plan of redemption for His children. But God also said that in the end times that these secrets will be revealed and they are beginning to be seen. You can read the post on this secret HERE.
So God has placed His creation, the powers of darkness between us and Him. That is what we must overcome, that is the furnace we must come through. Yet God is faithful and He sent Jesus His Son, so that in Him we may be raised to newness of life, walk in the power of His Spirit and overcome sin and the world, both of which are the dominion of Satan. It is by grace that we are saved as we in our flesh are no match for these heavenly creations.
All faith is tested and all sin is judged that is not repented of and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. This testing is a life long pursuit, it is not one and done. This is why we are admonished to endure to the end, to persevere and as Paul said finish the race that we started. There is no resting on your laurels on the narrow road that leads to life. Even Jesus, who walked this earth as a mere man, drained totally of all godly deity went through the furnace. Jesus had to overcome and He did so marvelously showing us the way. We are to walk as Jesus walked. Consider the passage from Luke where Satan had finished the initial trials and temptations.
Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. So Satan left Jesus for a season, but as the passage says, he was coming back at an opportune time. It is the same way for us, we must be on guard for the rest of our lives in this body or until the Lord returns.
Paul spoke of times where he felt like he was running his race in vain. Yet Paul endured, he never left the path of righteousness but obeyed the Spirit that was leading him until the very end. Paul suffered immensely yet he overcome by the blood of Jesus that gave him the supernatural grace to come through the fiery furnace. Hopefully none of us will endure what Paul endured, but we need to learn from his example as well as the one from the life of Jesus here as a man. So when these afflictions come upon you, do not despair but keep your eyes on Christ and trust not in your own flesh.
Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction
How We Overcome
We overcome through the blood of Jesus and our testimony of His Word. It is by grace, the power of God working IN US — that we overcome. That is the only way to be saved. The grace of God has appeared to all men yet most have forfeited or wasted the grace bestowed upon them. They have not said no to ungodliness and continue to love and practice sin. Many lord over their own lives and while they say they believe in Jesus, the Lord is a second fiddle and an idol in their heart. That is idolatry or harlotry my friends and we cannot rationalize away the Word of Truth. Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. We either serve sin or we serve Jesus. Paul defined this clearly in Romans 6.
Romans 6:16-18 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
This truth has been perverted by the false church of the end times which does nothing to teach or attempt to purge sin out of the church and its members. Very few understand what the furnace is, why God set it up and the absolute requirement that WE MUST OVERCOME. We have got to be willing to faithfully walk into the furnace and die to ourselves and put our trusts in Jesus. That is what Jesus meant by verses such as this one.
John 12:25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life
Overcoming Equals Eternal Life
2 Timothy 2:11-12 It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us
If we have not already seen this in Scripture, it will be crystal clear after we review what Jesus told the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. At the end of all these messages, Jesus links overcoming with some aspect of the gift of eternal life. I take great hope in these promises and they weigh heavy on my heart as I make choices to obey God or not obey Him. What wonderful things await us IF we overcome. Here are the seven messages to the churches about overcoming:
Ephesus – Revelation 2:7 – To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. This is eternal paradise defined, eating from the tree of life. Access to this tree is guarded as we saw in Genesis 3:24. We must get past the defender, the powers of darkness and overcome them to make it to paradise. The fallen church has totally forgotten the WAR and in ignorance and blindness is leading sheep to the slaughter.
Smyrna – Revelation 2:11 – He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. The second death is hell, eternal damnation and separation forever from God. It is simply death but what a waste if one throws away such a precious and great salvation that is a gift from God. Those in paradise do not go to Hell, a very good thing to avoid.
Pergamum Revelation 2:17 – To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. If Jesus is really our LORD, then we are given a new heart, we become the living stones and are fed by the Holy Spirit which is here in this life and the life to come. Once we pass from death (to flesh) to life (led by the Spirit), we no longer lusts for the things of this world and are indeed Born Again into God’s kingdom.
Thyatira Revelation 2:26 – He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28and I will give him the morning star. Those who make it to the New Heaven are given authority to judge the ungodly and Satan and his demonic angels. Paul tells us we will judge angels and the only angels getting judged are the evil ones not the ministering spirits that guard and protect us. The morning star in this passage is Satan. Jesus is the BRIGHT morning star in Revelation 22:16, Satan is the false Jesus that deceived the whole world and he is not bright but dark. It is much better to be the delegated Judge than to be the one being judged. We must overcome to attain that position.
Sardis Revelation 3:5 – He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. We must be clothed in white garments, pure and Holy having been sanctified by the power of God working IN US. The Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22 tells us what happens to the man than sneaks in without the right garments. He is cast out into utter darkness. Our names must remain written in the Book of Life, our failure to overcome sin and the powers of darkness in our lives will result in the erasure of our names from the Book of Life.
Philadelphia Revelation 3:12 – He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. This is the opposite of the Mark of the Beast, it is the Mark of God. The Mark of the Beast is simple, it is given to all that do not overcome the flesh and are led by the Spirit. Walking in the flesh, either as an unbeliever or a double minded harlot equals the Mark of the Beast. It is not some microchip and people need to quit looking to the natural as Jesus comes quickly. If we are marked by God, we are led by the Spirit, our mind (forehead) is focused on Jesus and our deeds (our hand) are doing the works of God.
Laodicea Revelation 3:21 – He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. We get to sit with the LORD in heaven IF we learn to walk as Jesus walked. Glory Be To GOD!. He overcame and we must also if this is our hope for eternity. Where man-made church got the idea of saying some words that you believe and you are signed sealed and delivered to heaven could have only come from the arch deceiver that sits exalted today in church as Jesus.
Overcoming is Not Easy
1 Peter 4:18 AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?
The Christian walk is far from a cake walk. We must overcome all that is in our way and follow Jesus. It is a difficult and challenging road that leads to eternal life. We have all kinds of temptations, fleshly desires and even a very real enemy that must be overcome. The false gospel is very easy, it is sold as a piece of cake. All you need to do is say these words and come to our church and it is a done deal. The King of Babylon had a similarly easy criterion. Just bow down to the image of god he created and everything will be just fine the people were told. But Shadrach and his faithful brothers in the Lord did not bow, they took the difficult way to eternal life and came through the furnace.
Paul called our walk of faith, a race of endurance, one that we must not only start but we must also finish.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us
Near the end of his life, Paul wrote to Timothy knowing he had little time. Paul knew the gift does not come until the very end. We do not overcome and then coast into the finish line. We must keep running, enduring trials, temptations and furnaces until God calls us home.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
If we are not purified, we will not see the Lord. The Word is quite clear on that despite what you may have heard from blind leaders. Many have placed their trust in men and books written by men and have forsaken the truth.
Revelation 21:7-9 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” It is worthy to note that the fearful or cowardly that do not risk their lives and walk into the furnace in obedience to God do not make it. We must follow God and He sends us out amongst the wolves that own the world. We cannot live in fear but must fully trust God just like the faithful men like Shadrach. Avoiding the furnace is not overcoming the furnace. We must believe Jesus and that means so much more than just that He was the Son of God. Even the demons believe that James tells us and they shudder. We must believe that He will see us through the furnace. That is true faith. The watered down the gospel of truth has people ignorant of the furnace and is leading them to destruction.
All faith is tested continually until the very end. God does it, it is His will as a jealous God and a consuming fire. He demands our whole hearts and it is for this testing that the Lord sends the powers of darkness and put us into the furnace of life. If we are really standing on the Rock Eternal, Jesus will be there with us through the test and not a hair on our head will be singed. But if we are standing on a different rock and a different gospel and a different Jesus then we will be consumed by the fire. Sadly this is where most Christians are, they are being scorched, burned and devoured by God’s chosen instruments of judgment and discipline.
The Lord will deliver His people, IF they walk in covenant with Him and obey His statutes. Not only did God deliver Shadrach from the furnace but as the story in Daniel tells us; God prospered them in this life and their obedience and faith was rewarded with Blessings from God. We are promised the same thing today.
1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
@Charles, these are indeed pearls of wisdom. I was just talking about this very subject with my husband last night.
Quote from Charles
“Christ has indeed kindled a fiery furnance within his elect for the purpose of magnifying his presence and glory”.
This is why God had King Nebuchadnezzar heat up the furnace SEVEN times hotter. Nebuchadnezzar being a type of Satan was allowed to heat of the furnace 7 times, and yet all it did was MAGNIFY the glory of God which was in the furnace with Shadrach; Meshach, and of Abednego.
Thank you Charles for sharing your understandings on this forum I am very grateful and blessed to learn from you and many others here also.
Peace be with you
Bill
Amen Mark and Charles. The firey trials are that which burn the chaff out of our souls. Many there are who choose to avoid the pain much to their folly. As you say, Mark, God is now in the business of raising His own vessels for use – those who have been purified and tried. Let us take joy in this assured confidence and be those beacons of light that shine forth in a very dark world.
God bless your sharing of pearls Charles. It’s impossible to thank you in proper measure to my gain. I hope the saints realize how blessed we are to have the Spirit of Life working in men and to have those men sharing on this blog. All praise and thanksgiving to Him today and forever always.It’s this Light that helps us to”enter in”. I’m beginning to know agape.Praise God. Thank you.
Brothers, Sisters
God is raising up an end time peoples who want nothing but his truth. They want to represent him only, and want nothing of self to go foward from their person. Gods presence is flooding , permeating their kingdom within like never before : his wittnesses are rising in all humbleness,to shine forth “his” light and not “theirs”, in a world of darkness. Christ has indeed kindled a fiery furnance within his elect for the purpose of magnifying his presence and glory.
God bless, Jer. 33: 3
Pete enjoyed the truths of this post. A deceased brother in Christ wrote the following article, I believe it goes hand and hand with the above article that God privledged you to write.
My Beloved Enemy – A Word To My Enemies
YOU are not really my enemies at all. in reality you are some of the best friends I have. You who have lied about me, and about this ministry, who have tried to destroy people’s faith and confidence in me, who have spread false and damaging rumors about my life and teachings. through your efforts there has been a work of grace wrought in this heart of mine that could never have happened without you.
My friends have been many, and loyal, and faithful to stand with me in many hours of trial and need. They have been strength to my weakness, added joy to my heart in time of sorrow, and have girded up my faith amidst raging doubts. They have brought me before the throne of grace innumerable times in their seasons of prayer. I could not have continued long in this spiritual conflict without these wonderful friends.
But, believe me, I speak in sincerity and truth, there can be no perfection in the lives of God’s elect without the chastising work of a real enemy. For when a bitter vicious person begins to do all they can to destroy me and my work for God, then there is a work done that brings out all the wrong and evil attitudes and spirits that lie hidden and deeply rooted in my heart. When a friend extols all my good virtues and praises me from their heart of true friendship, I feel nothing but love for them. But, when I hear of an enemy who has unjustly brought shame upon me, there rises up a spirit of defending myself, and a spirit of “righteous indignation” to refute the enemy. It is then that the precious Holy Spirit does His office work and reveals to me the wrongness of my own spirit. I see in me then, the things I did not know were there before. With repenting and sorrow of heart I cry to God, and He delivers me from that which I have seen in my life. It was hidden, lying dormant, until you, my beloved enemy brought it to light with your crucifying process. The prophets of old would never have had the glory of being stoned for the Word of God-and no martyr’s crowns could ever have been won by the early Christians without real enemies.
You see, I cannot crucify myself, and friends will not do it. So it takes you, my enemy, to bring me to the cross. And to the cross I must come, if ever I am to come to the glory of perfection. But I have much progress yet to make before coming to the image of my lovely Jesus. There is so much I must yet learn. And, my enemy, you are teaching me. I have learned that the road to glory is by way of the cross. Without you I would not have found the way. Someone had to crucify my Jesus. Not his friends, not his disciples, and He could not do it Himself. So Satan and the princes of this world stirred up hatred in the hearts of His enemies, and the work was done. Had they known that they were bringing Him into His glory, and bringing about the salvation of lost mankind, they would not have done it. And I’m sure that if you knew the good your efforts are working out in my life, you would not want to help me so much. But the work is being done, and I have learned to love you because of it. “Love thy enemies,” He said, and I wondered how I could do it. But you have taught me. For because of you I have grown in God, increased in His Grace, and partaken of His divine nature.
Also because of you many have been turned away and refused to hear the truths imparted unto this vessel. Their ears have been filled with lies, and no doubt have thought that “no good thing could possibly come from such a one.” But even here I have seen the hand of God. For those who have had ears to hear the voice of the Spirit have not believed the lies you have told them, and they have opened their hearts to the message for these last days. Thus, God has weeded out the chaff from the wheat, and is in the process of separating His own unto Himself. All things are working together.
So, my friends, for in reality I have no enemies in flesh and blood, your work has been sharp and cutting, and many times I was hurt and wounded deeply. But out of these trying experiences I have come forth a better Christian, and further on my way to being an overcomer. I doubt that you will receive any rewards for your lies and your efforts to destroy me, for “Woe unto them through whom these offences come.” But I want you to know that though your loss may be great in the day of judgment, I love you and appreciate the ministry you have had in perfecting this life of mine.
NOW JUST A WORD TO ALL WHO HAVE READ THIS. I trust that you have understood that this word has not been applicable to me only, but should apply as well to all of God’s dear children. May the Spirit speak to your heart and open your eyes to this great truth. that without chastisement and the work of enemies we can never come into full Sonship. And when we see how much our persecutions and afflictions mean to us in maturing our spirits and bringing us into His image, then we can truly “Love our enemies,” and “bless them that curse us.” Praise God for His marvelous plan! And remember. all the enemy can destroy in the fires of persecution is “hay, wood and stubble,” and all they will melt and bring into His image is the “gold, silver and the precious stones.” So let us be willing to burn that which will burn, that those things which will not burn may stand forever!