The Passing of a Missionary Giant--Ralph Winter

The following article appeared in the LA Times.

Ralph D. Winter dies at 84; Christian missionary was one of America's most influential evangelicals

By Claire Noland

May 24, 2009

Ralph D. Winter, a Christian missionary who was named one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals by Time magazine in 2005, died Wednesday at his home in Pasadena after battling multiple myeloma and lymphoma. He was 84.

Winter stepped onto the world stage in 1974 at the International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. There he issued a call for other Protestant evangelists to proselytize to the world's "unreached people," those who had not been exposed to Christianity.

In identifying mission fields, Winter looked for "ethnic pockets," isolated areas where language, ethnicity, culture and social status as well as religion had hindered the spread of the Christian Gospel.

He began his career as a Presbyterian missionary in Guatemala in 1956. Ten years later he returned to the United States to become professor of missions at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. At Fuller he trained missionaries, sharing with students his experiences working with the indigenous Maya people of Latin America.

In 1976 he decided to leave the classroom to become a strategist for Christian outreach, founding the interdenominational U.S. Center for World Mission on the former campus of Pasadena Nazarene College. A year after establishing a research institute there, he founded the related William Carey International University.

By 2005 he was included along with such figures as Rick Warren and James Dobson in Time's compilation of influential American evangelicals.

Winter was born in South Pasadena in December 1924, the middle son of Hugo H. Winter, a prominent freeway designer with the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, and his wife, Hazel.

He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Caltech before serving in the Navy during World War II.

After his discharge, Winter switched gears and studied for a doctorate in linguistics, anthropology and mathematical statistics at Cornell. He then attended Columbia, where he received a master's degree in teaching English as a second language, and Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1956.

By then he was prepared for his missionary calling to Guatemala, setting out with his wife, Roberta, a registered nurse whom he had married in 1951. They had four daughters, all of whom became involved in missionary work. Roberta died in 2001.

Winter is survived by his second wife, Barbara; daughters Elizabeth Gill, Rebecca Lewis, Linda Dorr and Patricia Johnson; 14 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and two brothers, Paul, a structural engineer, and David, president of Westmont College in Santa Barbara.

Paddock Family Reunion

Paddock Family Reunion—June 18-24

No matter how far we travel, Colorado will always be home for us. There is a very good chance we will be buried in Kansas, but Colorado will always be home. We still have family there and it is not possible to undo 45 years of living there.

Arletta let it be known that it was time for a family reunion. Her concern was for grandchildren that are growing up and leaving home. She felt that this year might be the last year we could get everyone together in one spot. Grand Junction is the logical place. That is central to California where Becca is and to those of us who live in Oklahoma and Kansas. Vicki was able to get good prices on tickets from Alaska, so Grand Junction was a good spot for her as well. The Paddock children took on the responsibility of planning and organizing the entire event and did a great job.

Our activities began Thursday night with an evening visit at Tad's. Our newest great-granddaughter, Ollie, was there and we delight to see her and the other members of the family who had driven or flown in. My evening was spent trying to locate a lost hotel reservation. Holiday Inn had my confirmation number but no room or hotel to match the number. Bottom line—no place to stay. But a humble servant of Holiday Inn somewhere in Pakistan found us reservations in a brand new hotel in Grand Junction. He did ask if I were depressed or suicidal because they were looking for truck drivers. When we got there it had been open all of three days.

The big excitement began on Friday when we caravanned out to Highline Lake near Loma, Colorado. We used to joke about the Loma Mall which was basically a country store. We also joked about the Loma International airport. A favorite story of mine about the airport goes like this: They were testing a new jet plane larger than the 747. (In fact, the Russians went on to build this plane. You can see it online). They fired up the plane and it started down the runway with a huge cloud of black smoke billowing out of the engines. All of a sudden the engines died and the plane came to a stop at the end of the runway. The engineers for the Loma Institute of Technology ran down the runway to find out what happened. The pilot rolled down the window and his voice boomed out over the desert—"Ran out of coal."

When we lived in Colorado in the 1970s and 80s the Highline Lake was a large puddle in the midst of sagebrush with a sand fringe around the edge. We had a lot of fun at the lake, but it was no paradise. By 2009 some dramatic changes had occurred. Grass had been planted, trees grown up, restrooms, and outdoor tables and shelters all over the place. It even boasts a nice campground for overnights. At 10:00 am the campground was full. The day was cool and the water cold. Still the children enjoyed playing in the water while the older generation sat around, ate and talked over old times. We stayed until 5:00 pm at the Lake and then retired to Tad's for the evening.

Saturday morning found us again at Goodpastures for another great breakfast. We took the Mercedes with a Hemi to a great car wash that took 9 minutes to do the wash, but when it was done the car was spotless. We had picked up a good deal of road crud on the trip from Denver to Grand Junction. Eventually we were back to Tad's for more visiting and final preparations for the Family Picnic at the Long Family Memorial Park near Central High School. Several years ago William Long gave the county the acreage for a huge park next to Central High School. The park is ½ mile long and a quarter mile wide. But the catch to the gift was simple. The county had three years to develop the park or the land reverted to the family. The county got on the ball and built a beautiful park complete with walking paths, sports' facilities, and picnic shelters.

The guest list at the family picnic included all of our children, their spouses, and grandchildren, except for one spouse and two grandchildren. Of course we had our first great-granddaughter there. All of my sister's children (Susan died several years ago) were there. Some of the Linscotts live in the Grand Junction area and one daughter, Debbie, drove in from Oregon. We had a chance to catch up on the lives of these nieces and nephews. We also met some of the new additions to this part of the family. All were doing well. My only brother, Doug and his wife Tommye were there. Arletta's older sister, Chrissie, came with some of her children. One of Marty's old buddies, Scot Bell, came to visit. And then a great surprise, Chris Clark, came to the reception. We were glad to see him again. It was a cold day in Grand Junction even in June and we finally went home around 5:30.

Sunday was the highlight of the reunion for me. We went to church at the Clifton Christian Church. My spiritual roots are in that church. We saw a few old friends including Eleanor Burckhalter who invited me to church in 1957. I owe her a huge debt of gratitude. In church I had my entire family, including most of the grandchildren. It was a powerful moment.

Sunday afternoon Tad fired up the grill and did his usual great job of grilling steaks. We took family pictures and then the party began to break up. Marty and Alisha and their crew started for Kansas. Arletta and I left for Moab Utah to spend time with my brother.

I want to offer a special thanks to our children for putting together a wonderful time. It was the greatest gift they could have given.

CO2 and Global Warming--Christian Science Monitor

Don't treat C02 as a pollutant

From higher energy bills to lost jobs, the impact of carbon regulations will hurt us far more than CO2 itself ever could.

By Mark W. Hendrickson

from the June 23, 2009 edition

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GROVE CITY, PA. - A few days before this year's Earth Day, America's ideological greens received a present they have been desiring for years: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – responding to a 2007 US Supreme Court ruling – officially designated carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant. That spurred Democrats in Congress to push a major climate change bill. In the next 25 years, their massive cap-and-trade scheme would, according to a Heritage Foundation study, inflict gross domestic product losses of $9.4 trillion, raise an average family's energy bill by $1,241, and destroy some 1,145,000 jobs. Democrats want it passed by July 4.

Get ready for a veritable Pandora's box of complications.

A generation ago, it was considered great progress against pollution when catalytic converters were added to automobile engines to change poisonous carbon monoxide to benign carbon dioxide. Now, CO2 has been demoted.

The EPA's characterization of CO2 as a pollutant brings into question the natural order of things. By the EPA's logic, either God or Mother Nature (whichever creator you believe in) seriously goofed. After all, CO2 is the base of our food chain. "Pollutants" are supposed to be harmful to life, not helpful to it, aren't they?

Of course, it is true (although environmentalists often ignore it when trying to ban such useful chemicals as pesticides, insecticides, Alar, PCBs, and others) that "the dose makes the poison." Too much oxygen, for example, poses danger to human life. So what is the "right" concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere? There is no right answer to this question. The concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere fluctuated greatly long before humans appeared on Earth, and that concentration has fluctuated since then, too.

The current concentration is approximately 385 parts per million. Some scientists maintain that 1,000 parts per million would provide an ideal atmosphere for plant life, accelerating plant growth and multiplying yields, thereby sustaining far more animal and human life than is currently possible. Whatever standard the EPA selects will be arbitrary.

"Forget about the plants," say the greens. "What we're trying to control is how warm Earth's atmosphere gets." To which I reply, "With all due respect, are you kidding me?"

As with a "right" concentration of CO2, what is the "right" average global temperature? For 7,000 of the past 10,000 years, Earth was cooler than it is now; mankind prospers more in warm climates than cold climates; and the Antarctic icecap was significantly larger during the warmer mid-Holocene period than it is today. Are you sure warmer is bad or wrong?

And how do you propose to regulate Earth's temperature when as much as three-quarters of the variability is due to variations in solar activity, with the remaining one-quarter due to changes in Earth's orbit, axis, and albedo (reflectivity)? This truly is "mission impossible." Mankind can no more regulate Earth's temperature than it can the tides.

Even if the "greenhouse effect" were greater than it actually is, the EPA and Congress would be powerless to alter it for several reasons:

1. Human activity accounts for less than 4 percent of global CO2 emissions.

2. CO2 itself accounts for only 10 or 20 percent of the greenhouse effect. This discloses the capricious nature of the EPA's decision to classify CO2 as a pollutant, for if CO2 is a pollutant because it is a greenhouse gas, then the most common greenhouse gas of all – water vapor, which accounts for more than three-quarters of the atmosphere's greenhouse effect – should be regulated, too. The EPA isn't going after water vapor, of course, because then everyone would realize how absurd climate-control regulation really is.

3. Even if Americans were to eliminate their CO2 emissions completely, total human emissions of CO2 would still increase as billions of people around the world continue to develop economically.

Clearly, it is beyond the ken of mortals to answer the metaquestions about the right concentration of CO2, or the optimal global average temperature, or to control CO2 levels in the atmosphere. I feel sorry for the professionals at the EPA who are now expected to come up with answers for these unanswerable questions.

However, I do not feel sorry for the political appointees, like climate czar Carol Browner, because it looks as if they are about to get what they evidently want – the power to increase their power over Americans' lives and pocketbooks via CO2 emission regulations.

From higher energy bills to lost jobs, the impact of CO2 regulations will hurt us far more than CO2 itself ever could. Let's nail shut the lid on this Pandora's box before it swings wide open.

Mark W. Hendrickson is an adjunct faculty member, economist, and contributing scholar with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College, where this essay was first published.

John Grisham’s The Appeal

I am a faithful John Grisham fan. I have enjoyed every book he has written. That holds true for his book The Appeal. I would encourage you to read the book in background for the article that I am putting into this post on my blog. What John Grisham reminds us is that justice is being bought and sold in our country just like every other political aspect from the presidency to the local commissioners. If I really want to have a voice in government then a nice campaign gift opens the door to my opinions and if necessary, my protection in legal matters. But read the book. John Grisham does a much better job of telling the story than me.

Here is the article from Associated Press, dated June 8, 2009. Dateline: Washington [D.C.]

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that elected judges must step aside from cases when large campaign contributions from interested parties create the appearance of bias.

By a 5-4 vote in a case from West Virginia, the court said that a judge who remained involved in a lawsuit filed against the company of the most generous supporter of his election deprived the other side of the constitutional right to a fair trial.

With multimillion dollar judicial election campaigns on the rise, the court's decision could have widespread significance. Justice at Stake, which tracks campaign spending in judicial elections, says judges are elected in 39 states and the candidates for the highest state courts have raised $168 million since 2000.

The West Virginia case involved more than $3 million spent by the chief executive of Massey Energy Co. to help elect state Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin. At the time, Massey was appealing a verdict, which now totals $82.7 million with interest, in a dispute with a local coal company. Benjamin refused to step aside from the case, despite repeated requests, and was part of a 3-2 decision to overturn the verdict.

"Not every campaign contribution by a litigant or attorney creates a probability of bias that requires a judge's recusal, but this is an exceptional case," Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his opinion for the court.

Resurrection Meals

[Message delivered to the Zeandale Community Church on May 3, 2009]

Using the thoughts of Eugene Peterson from his book Living the Resurrection I have chosen today to look at the idea of the resurrection meals. Preparation of food and eating occupy a significant part of our time. Does the Bible give us any insights as to the meaning of these events in our daily life? When we look at some of the meals Jesus participated in, we realize that meals occupy an important place.

Many years ago in Grand Junction, Colorado we had a wonderful couple along with their children move to town. Dick Wilson, along with his wife Velva, became instant friends. We would enjoy a number of heartaches, but even more a great deal of joy with this family.

One great experience we had with the Wilsons occurred when we were having a revival at the Northeast Christian Church. We had invited a great evangelist—Dr. Charles Crane—and were enjoying a week of services. Charles decided that he would like to have the evening meal after services. So around 9:00 pm every night we went to a different home for supper. On Thursday night of the meeting we went to lunch with John and Margaret Ball. John had grilled t-bone steaks and we had a great meal with them. Then my mother called. She really liked Charles Crane and wanted to bring in a snack before the services that night. The "snack" turned out to be big hamburgers on homemade buns and all the trimmings—potato salad and baked beans. Then after the meeting we were to go to the Wilsons for supper. Of course we were all stuffed at this point, but we could not turn down the meal at the Wilsons. Velva outdid herself and fixed a Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings. It was a fabulous meal. Their daughter who was a bit shy made a German chocolate cake that was out of this world. When Charles Crane finished his last bite of cake and I knew he was very full, I said to the Wilson daughter, "Dr. Crane was hoping he could have one more, nice large piece of that German chocolate cake." The girl was excited and brought out another generous serving of cake. Charles politely moaned, but ate the cake.

When the Paddocks moved to Rifle to provide ministry for a church that was coming out of the Disciples' Movement, we were living in the parsonage next to the church building. Early one Sunday morning Dick and Velva arrived with a complete surprise breakfast. We had a good time and a lot of laughs as a result.

Only recently did I learn the significance of such events. And that's what we want to talk about.

Let's look at Peterson's presentation:

Ordinary meals

Twice the story of Jesus' resurrection includes meals. "The unimaginable transcendence of the resurrection is assimilated into the most routine and ordinary of actions—eating a meal. We have a long tradition among Christians, given shape and content by our Scriptures, that practices the preparing, serving, and eating of meals as formational for living the resurrection."

First meal:

• Two people, perhaps man and wife, walking to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32)
  
• They have plenty of time to go into depth on any subject as they walk along
  
• Talked about:
  
  • The trial and crucifixion of Jesus
    
  • Their own feelings about him—"The immense authority and sense of divine presence they associated with him."
    
  • Expectations aroused
    
    • "We hoped he would be the one who would deliver Israel."
      
  • The rumors in Jerusalem
    
    • Women who claimed they could not find the body
      
    • Women saw angels who told them he was alive
      
    • Others (men) went to the tomb and confirmed it was empty
      
    • But at that point the couple does not know if anyone actually saw Jesus
      
• Jesus comes alongside
  
  • The couple from Emmaus are unaware of who this person is. "They were in the presence of resurrection, walking in the land of the living, and didn't know it."
    
  • Jesus puts all that happened in the framework of Scriptures.
    
  • As the couple listened they were not "getting the big picture." See v. 32
    
• The couple asked Jesus to join them for a meal.
  
  • Stopped at the bakery and picked up a loaf of bread
    
  • Purchased a bottle of wine
    
  • That would be supper—bread and wine
    
• Time for a flashback—review the background
  
  • The couple had just returned from Passover, the feast that normally lasted a week. "This great Hebrew feast of salvation, with all the energy and drama attending it." You have
    
    • Ritual
      
    • The place
      
    • Memories
      
    • Stories
      
    • Songs
      
    • Your Jewish identity reaffirmed
      
  • Then sudden desecration
    
    • A man that you highly respected and who was recognized as a prophet, a holy man, is brutally beaten and crucified at the behest of the mob that are stirred up by the Jewish leaders, the godfather high priest and his gang of Mafia members.
      
    • Then you hear rumors of angels and resurrection. "On successive days in Jerusalem you were hurled from celebration to anguish to bewilderment. Your whole world spun out of control."
      
    • Finally you are on your way home, back to peace and tranquility. Your nerves are beginning to settle when this stranger comes along and begins to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Finally, you are at rest knowing the big picture.
      
    • You buy a loaf of bread and a skin of wine. You invite the stranger home for supper
      
      • You pour the wine
        
      • But the stranger takes the bread, blesses it, and breaks it.
        
      • Suddenly you realize—"this is Jesus."
        
  • Breakfast on the beach—gospel of John
    
    • Seven of the eleven apostles are there, having gone fishing
      
    • Caught nothing
      
    • Jesus directed them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat—result: 153 fish
      
    • John is the first to realize the stranger on the beach is Jesus.
      
    • Peter jumps in the water and swims to shore. "Don't you just love it when people with spiritual experiences leave you to clean up the dishes?"
      
    • On shore Jesus has a breakfast ready of bread and grilled fish.
      

"Christian practice in matters of spiritual formation goes badly astray when it attempts to construct or organize ways of spirituality apart from the ordinariness of life."

The meals were not a religious occasion, not metaphorical, but real meals. Recognition of the resurrection is delayed.

"Jesus is host, always. We are never 'in charge,' of our spiritual formation. We don't decide the menu. We don't customize the details according to our tastes and appetites. But at the same time we are completely present and participatory, engaged in the actual formation-by-resurrection itself."

We are rapidly losing 'the culture at the table."

The common meal:

• The way we take care of our physical need for food
  
• Our social need for conversation
  
• Cultural need to carry on traditions and convey values.
  
• The meal is
  
  • Inclusive
    
  • Comprehensive
    
• The experience of sacrifice. Something had to die for almost every part of the meal
  
  • "Eating a meal involves us in a complex, sacrificial world of giving and receiving. Life feeds life. We are not self-sufficient. We live by life, and life is given to us."
    
• The world of the meal has greatly diminished.
  
  • "Fast-food means there is little leisure time for conversation."
    
  • Explosion of restaurants—less preparation time at home.
    
  • The invasion of television
    
  • Instant microwave meals
    

The shape of the liturgy—the Lord's Supper

Jesus and meals:

• Taking
  
• Blessed
  
• Broke
  
• Gave
  

The events:

• Feeding the 5000
  
• Feeding the 4000
  
• The Passover/Lord's Supper
  
• Emmaus
  

Jesus takes what we bring to him—"our bread, our fish, our wine, our goats, our sheep, our sins, our virtues, our work, our leisure, our strength, our weakness, our hunger, our thirst, whatever we are."

Jesus blesses and gives thanks for what we bring. Remember he said to Andrew, "Five loaves and two fish? Is that all you come up with?"

Jesus breaks what we bring. "All too often we come to the table with our best manners and a pose of impenetrable self-sufficiency. We're all surface, all role—polished and poised performers in the game of life." Jesus is after what is within, including our inadequacies. He does not allow us to be self-enclosed or to be self-sufficient. Jesus gives back what we brought, but it is no longer what we brought. Every meal is an extension of the Lord's Supper.

Now, how does this work out for us today?

First, I want to emphasize the simplicity of the meals Jesus served.

• Feeding of the 5000—bread and sardines
  
• Feeding of the 4000—bread and sardines
  
• Lord's Supper—bread and wine
  
• Road to Emmaus—bread and wine
  
• By the Sea of Galilee—bread and grilled fish
  

Because Jesus was involved these became special events. Jesus wants to be in our special events. He wants to take the simple and turn it into the profound. He wants us to have resurrection experiences.

Note some recent events at Zeandale:

• The Soup supper and hymn sing—on a Sunday evening and our crowd was as big as the morning service. We had a great selection of soups, nothing fancy, but everything good. The following hymn-sing lasted for over an hour and even when it was "officially" over, one of the church pianists pulled up to the out-of-tune piano in the basement and the hymn-sing went on for another 45 minutes. No one was anxious to go home. The interaction and pure enjoyment kept them there. It was a resurrection event.
  
• Not much later we had our famous Easter breakfast. We have people come to this breakfast that are never seen again until the next year. But there is so much resurrection experience going on. On Saturday the men of the church get together and prepare for the breakfast. There is a great time of fellowship accompanying the cinnamon roll preparation. All get excited like small children waiting for the first sample to come from the oven. Then on Easter Sunday at 8:00 am the men are busy again and the fellowship is rich. It is a resurrection event.
  
• Recently we had a choir party to celebrate the end of another season. People came early and stayed late. We officially started at 6:30 pm, and our last visitors left shortly before 10:00.
  
• Two years ago, our second daughter graduated from Washburn School of Law. It was a big family event. For her graduation dinner she wanted Navajo tacos. The trick to this is making the Navajo fry-bread upon which the taco makings are placed. Two of our sons rolled out and cooked the fry-bread outdoors. It was a resurrection experience for them as they live a thousand miles apart and seldom see each other. Another resurrection event was taking place in the kitchen where Arletta and our daughters and ladies from the Zeandale church were busy preparing the rest of the meal. The preparation was followed by the meal and then by the afterglow where people just hung around and visited with one another. Probably 40-50 people were involved.
  

The message is plain. When we let Jesus become part of an event, it becomes a resurrection event. Probably more so that some church services. Jesus had a desire to interact with people where they lived. They didn't have to come to him with predetermined conditions for fellowship. He ate with them the food they had. He blessed the menu and saw that it met the needs of all present. Somehow we need to have more such resurrection meals. Most of all we need to recognize that in the meal and the fellowship we are experiencing the resurrection.

The Resurrection Experience and the Sabbath

The Resurrection Experience and the Sabbath

Because I was in the midst of a series on Spiritual Warfare prior to Easter, and on Easter Sunday we always have a cantata, I decided to have a series on the resurrection after Easter. My inspiration comes from Eugene Peterson's excellent little book, Living the Resurrection, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006). The first week we talked about the wonder element of the resurrection and looked at the story from the viewpoint of the four authors of the Gospels. All of them stressed the matter of the wonder of the resurrection and how unprepared people were for the event. The resurrection knocked out cold the guards who guarded the tomb and left the first responders—women—in a state of amazed awe. None had planned for the event. Peterson' point is that resurrection wonder cannot be planned or programmed. But we must be in position to receive it and we can't do it by multitasking and working day and night. We have to make room for God. More than just room. We need to determine that we will be in a close relationship with Him all the time.

The next event we wish to explore is the relationship of the resurrection experience to the Sabbath.

To begin with we need to see what the Bible teaches about the Sabbath. The first time the Sabbath is discussed is in relationship to God and the creation of the world. Simply, after God spent six days in the process of creation, he rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3).

The first statement in regard to the observation of the Sabbath is found in Exodus 16:23-25 where the regulations for the gathering of manna are given. The people were to gather one portion of manna for each person each day. But on the sixth day they were to gather a double portion. There would be no manna available on the seventh day.

The actual law regarding the Sabbath is found in the Ten Commandments—"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Later in Exodus 31:12-16, Moses outlines the Sabbath Laws:

12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 "You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.  Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.

Note that the Sabbath was a sign that indicated the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. It was a reminder that Yahweh had sanctified them and they belonged to Him. Every seven days they were to observe the Sabbath to remind themselves of their relationship to God. And all they were to do was rest. No cooking, ladies. No fires to be built. No travel. Livestock could be cared for. Babies could be delivered. Circumcision could be performed since babies come on their own schedule and are not particular about arriving on the Sabbath. But other than that it was a day of rest.

Those who claim to observe the Sabbath today fail to recognize the real purpose behind the Sabbath.

Peterson emphasizes that the first picture we have of God in the Bible is a picture of God at work. He is not discussed in some abstract theological tome, but instead is found at work. In Genesis 1:1-31 he is busy creating the world. From the beginning God put his mark of approval on the workplace. Even Adam and Eve had work in that they were to care for the Garden of Eden. We do not know what they were to do, but they had work. After the fall the work level increased dramatically for Adam and for all future human beings. God designed human beings to work. They are at their best when they are at work.

God also observed a Sabbath after he finished his work of creation.

The big issue is how to bring God into the workplace. In every area of employment, including Christian organizations, it is necessary to bring God into the workplace. Even Christian workers can become so involved in technology and programs, that they begin to forget the place of God in their lives.

We have become so wrapped up in technology that we subconsciously believe we really do not need God anymore or at least we are too busy to give Him any of our time.

Working with college students I never cease to be amazed at their efforts to cheat. College professors face an annual challenge to try to keep students from cheating. Recently I assigned students to read William Young's book, The Shack, and write a review of it. What I neglected to consider was the number of book reviews that are on the internet. So I have no idea how many used book reviews from the internet and may never have read the book. One student even copied a negative review verbatim on the assumption I would not detect it.

I do not allow computers in my classes because several years ago I had an issue with students using Instant Messaging and joking among themselves while I was discussed the Passion of Christ. To the outside observer it would appear that the Passion of Christ was a big joke we should laugh at. I determined at that point no more computers. Then this year I learned that when students are allowed to have computers in class, they spend their time on Facebook rather than paying attention to the lecture. One student on Facebook confessed to another student they were using Facebook in class. When I confronted the student about the confession, the student said, "Oh Dr. Paddock, I never did that in your classes."

What does this have to do with the Sabbath? If a person is so involved in technology that he/she cannot pay attention in a college class, then how can they possibly hear God?

This year at the time of Lent, an Italian cleric in Italy asked his congregation to give up text-messaging for the forty days of lent. I can assure you that college students would consider that an act of personal suicide, not to be able to text-message for 40 days. Even though they are asked to put their cell phones away, they move to the back row and stealthily text message back and forth continuously.

I would suggest that to observe the Sabbath principle we need to bring under control our use of technology. I have started turning off my computer at 4:00 pm on Friday and not looking at it again until Saturday night or Sunday morning. As often as I have done this I am amazed of how little I missed. If people need to contact me, they can use the old fashioned telephone. I still have one. There are very few emergencies. I see people literally addicted to their Blackberries and I-phones. They are constantly working them, anywhere, everywhere. I seriously doubt that God is going to speak to you through the I-phone. Turn it off! Let it rest! Let your mind rest! Observe a Sabbath from technology.

Years ago I found myself wore out all the time. My wife encouraged me to go to a doctor. He gave me a complete physical and declared me physically fit. Then he told me this. As a minister and a college professor you are working seven days a week. You are under the control of your telephone. Your church people can call you at any time and expect you to answer the call. You need to get out of town, away from the telephone.

We didn't have much money, but we got in our car and drove out of town for the day. There were lots of places to go where we didn't need to spend any money. No telephone, no demands, no students and we were able to enjoy each other. My vim, vigor, and vitalis soon returned. I never forgot that lesson.

God intended us to work only six days a week and then have a day off where we can commune with God. I encourage you to do exactly that.

Trip to Colorado March 26-30

We discovered on very short notice that the World Missions Crusade was to be the weekend of March 27-29. We thank Dene Johnson, minister at Rifle, Colorado, and a former student from IBC, for sending us his newsletter that told of the event. It was not a lengthy debate about whether we should go or not. Three things moved to make a positive decision in this direction:

• We would have an opportunity to make contact with numerous old friends and colleagues. I'm guessing that we did meet around 200 of them as well as their children.
  
• We would represent MCC at the conference.
  
• We would get to see our new great-granddaughter in Grand Junction.
  

We won't tell you which of these items was the most important.

Our trip to Grand Junction is described as follows:

To say that our trip to Colorado was exciting would be an understatement. Disneyland or Six Flags over Manhattan couldn't have produced as spectacular an event as we experienced. I'll try to verbalize it so that you can enjoy the experience as well.

 Oh yes, this was one of the God-things that Christians always like to talk about. Some are spreading rumors that I am a Christian. In order to dispel those rumors, I'll admit to it gladly. 

 The first piece of the puzzle came when our oldest son Geoffrey called to say that he thought he could get time off to go with us to Colorado. Would we like him to come along? The answer was simple: Of course we would like to have him. So after playing a late night ball game, he drove to Manhattan and arrived about 2:00 am on Thursday morning. 

 Prior to leaving I had some serious reservations about going. The weather reports indicated a bad storm coming into western Kansas. Then I saw reports of a coming bad storm in the mountains of Colorado. Not exactly the formula for a great trip. No beautiful scenery.  

 I got up at 5:30 and cared for the zoo, ate breakfast, prepared coffee for my class (Mr. Ingmire needs to look into the problem of so many students drinking coffee in the 8:00 am classes), and went to school. 

I taught my class and then proceeded home.

 Geoffrey and Arletta had the car loaded. I tied my computer to the roof so that it would stay cool (joke). We left around 10:30 am from Manhattan. Breakfast at Mac's lounge and then on the road. 

 Weather was beautiful as we went, temperature 58 degrees. 

 With no significant excitement we drove to Hays where we refueled and had lunch at Arby's. But we noticed that the wind changed and the temperature began to drop, but the sky was still clear. As we went by Colby and Goodland the local radio stations were warning people to hunker down, stay off the roads, and get ready for the big blow. Lots of that white stuff on the way. But we continued on. 

 Geoffrey was now driving. He got a call from a friend in the Denver area who told him that I-70 was closed from the Kansas border to Tower Road (just outside Denver).  But we continued on. 

 When we got to the Kansas border the weather was deteriorating with a little blowing snow from the north across traffic. Perfect for drifting. Traffic was moving along and so we continued also most of the time in the passing lane. 

 At this point let me give a sales pitch for the Chrysler 300. Without chains we made the entire trip. Only on one very slick stretch did we have any slippage. Other than that the car climbed Lookout Mountain, Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass without a bit of hesitancy. Of course that could be due to the Pirelli racing tires I installed on the car recently. The car is Arletta's and she said she wanted racing tires so that she could really "enjoy" the car. But that car performed marvelously. 

 We arrived at Limon in a blizzard. The roads were still open. We stopped to take on petrol and make one other important stop. The snow was really blowing now. But the clerk in the store told Geoffrey, "I-70 is now open." Later we would find out I-70 had been closed up to that time. So maybe our guardian angel had made arrangements for our continued progress. We will give Him the credit. 

 We pulled out on I-70 again into the blizzard, but the road was still drivable. As went along we saw numerous snowplows and highway patrol cars, all going east. The gates were open and the barriers down (although we may have crossed the barriers on top of the snow. We are now driving a Chrysler 300 Snowcat. 

 The trip from Burlington to Denver was exciting. Part of the time we could only see 100 feet down the road. The wind was blowing across the highway and there were occasional slick spots. But our angel driver did a great job of keeping the big 300 under control. Around Strasburg we ran into ice on the road and even the 300 fishtailed a little. 

Finally around 5:00 PM we made it to Denver. We ate supper at the only restaurant in town--the Village Inn. We have eaten at the Village Inn off Federal Blvd since 1960.  Actually the rest of the trip was not bad.

 We then began climbing the passes out of Denver. The storm had basically passed and CDOT had done a good job of cleaning the roads. Roads were snow packed, but not slick. The Pirelli racing tires bit into the snow and took up the passes and helped control the downward passage.   

 We did run into some more bad roads outside of Glenwood Spring. 

 Finally we arrived in Grand Junction about 12:30 CDT. Tad and Nick had waited up for us. I sent them updates along the way so that they knew where we were. 

 For the entire trip we were either just behind or just ahead of a storm. Our angel was busy. The news reported today that Denver really got dumped on last night. If we had stopped in Denver we would still be there.  

 A special thanks to Geoffrey and his mountain driving skills.  All of our boys are pros when it comes to driving in the mountains. And we do appreciate them.  Our girls also know how to drive in the snow. If they didn't they would definitely be stay at home girls. 

 We did have a wonderful time at the conference. I was among the original people who started this conference back in the 1960s. Erskine E. Scates was a missionary visionary and he wanted the churches of Western Colorado to be involved in missions. As a result "The World Vision Crusade" was inaugurated. Down through the years we had the best of missionary speakers and programs. I am sure that many were influenced to not only go to the mission field, but to support missions with funds and prayers. I can remember well the stirring services we had. 

This year the featured speaker was David Butts, a prayer guru. He did a marvelous job discussing the role of spiritual warfare and the place of prayer. He gave me the ammunition for several future sermons inasmuch as I am in a series of messages on spiritual warfare. 

We also spent time with our family in Grand Junction, the Mama, the Papa, the Grandma, the Grandpa, the Uncle (Nick) and ultimately the great granddaughter, Olivia Jean Paddock, "Ollie." We oohed and aahed at her by the hour, watching her every movement. "Ollie" is certainly in love with her Grandpa Tad. She has him wrapped around her finger already. My brother and his wife, Doug and Tommye Paddock, came from Moab Utah and we had a great afternoon together on Sunday. 

The trip home was much less eventful than the trip to Colorado. On Sunday afternoon high winds hit the Grand Valley followed by an inch of snow. That gave us cause for concern, but our concern was unfounded. Our trip went well all the way to Manhattan. 

Reflecting on the weekend, I marveled at the support we received from our boys. It was a great family experience. First, our oldest boy, Geoffrey, took off work so that he could help his parents get to Colorado. Marty took off work to stay at our house with his own children whom we normally watch when his wife is teaching. In fact Marty and Alisha stayed at the house and took care of the zoo while we were gone. Much appreciated, Marty. Finally, Tad and Gloria treated us like royalty. Great food, great hospitality. Special coffee was brought just for the old Grandpa and Tad prepared gourmet meals. We just want our boys to know they are appreciated and a source of joy and pride as we grow older. Thanks boys! 

Hiram Cassel Graduates to Glory

On March 15, 2009 Hiram Cassel at the age of 74, came to the end of his earthly journey and moved on to eternity. He was a common but extraordinary man. David Pape and Ron Brown conducted the funeral services for him on March 18 at the University Christian Church to a packed house. It was planned to be a celebration of a great life and that was exactly the way it was handled. 

Hiram was noted for being an outstanding husband, father, teacher, counselor, guide, college professor, humorist and friend. No one met him who was not immediately affected by his smile and his dry wit. He even exercised his wit on unsuspecting strangers that came to visit the church. One couple who drove up in an expensive car entered the vestibule of the church. Hiram went up, shook hands, and told the couple, "We have a nice seat for you right down front next to the offering basket that awaits your generous gifts."  When everyone laughed then the couple knew that Hiram was not serious. 

When Arletta and I came to Manhattan Hiram immediately became the best friend anyone could ask for. He and Marcy made it a special point to welcome us to the community and to UCC where we attended when I was not preaching elsewhere. I will miss Hiram. 

Hiram was noted for his generosity. An example of this was during the last few days of his life, one of his renters lost his job. Hiram instructed Marcy that when the renter came to pay his rent, she was give it back. Numerous illustrations of his generosity spoke volumes of the big heart this man had for everyone. 

Hiram graduated from Midwest Christian College in Oklahoma City. The school is now gone, but Hiram's ministry as a result of the training he received there lives on in the lives of thousands. 

Farewell Hiram. I'll plan to share a cup of coffee with you when I get to heaven. 

Spiritual Warfare in Daniel, part three

Spiritual Warfare in Daniel, part three—"Some through the fire"

One of the weapons that Satan has used throughout history is physical persecution and the threat of the same. In 1980 I visited Uganda shortly after the fall of Idi Amin. This man had been in the British military system and in a coup overthrew the president of Uganda in 1971. The assumption was he was a good ruler and would do well for the country. No one could foresee the hell on earth this man would create. He would rule until 1979 when his government would be overthrown by an invasion from Tanzania.

Idi Amin began by destroyed the local tea industry because it was owned and operated by "Asians". These were people from India who had migrated to Africa and demonstrated unusual entrepreneurial skills. They were good business people and they were making a lot of money, not only for themselves but also for Uganda. It was a classic case of the Golden Goose parable. Idi Amin decided that he and his people would be able to enjoy the wealth of the Asians and remove a despised class from Uganda. Soon all kinds of people were running our in Mercedes-Benzes and other luxury cars until they needed repairs and the cars then sat by the side of the road. The tea plantations languished for lack of care and Uganda lost the income she had been receiving from the tea.

A more serious attack took place against the Christians. Idi Amin was a Muslim and he identified all Christians as infidels worthy of death. Several hundred thousand Christians died in Uganda at his hands. Sometimes he would go into the prisons where Christians were being held and actually help execute them using a sledge hammer. Children witnessed the death of their parents in horrible ways that create trauma they would never overcome. Thousands would be thrown into the Nile River to the crocodiles. It was said that the crocodiles in the Nile were the largest and fattest in the world. They enjoyed a rich diet of human flesh.

These Christians understood what persecution was all about. They had seen it at its worst. But Satan was not successful in destroying Christianity in Uganda. The church learned to fervently pray and powerful churches rose up, not only evangelizing in Uganda, but in the surrounding nations of Zaire (now Congo), Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. I met a number of these leaders, many of them women who had come through the fire.

Today we want to talk about three men who literally came through the fire.

In the last chapter Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a great image and it terrified him. Because his counselors could not tell him the dream and at the same time explain it, he ordered all of them put to death. One counselor, not real smart, told the king, "No real king would make such a demand." That set off the fireworks and the news went from bad to worse. Daniel as a young man, just starting in the advisory business to the king, chose to pray. Most likely he prayed very fervently for God to give him the answers that he needed to save not only his own life, but the other advisors of the king. Daniel convinced the soldiers who came to execute him to give him some time so that he could determine the dream and its meaning. Fortunately Daniel was given the time.

 

An ego issue—One of Satan's favorite tools is to use the egos of men and women to accomplish his goals. An interesting study would be to show how many times the sins we commit against one another are based upon an ego issue. So we see Nebuchadnezzar as one man with an major ego problem.

In regard to the dream, Daniel identified Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold. Now in chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar has determined to erect a gold pillar apparently in honor of himself. If he is the head of gold in the dream, then it will be appropriate for people to worship Nebuchadnezzar as a god. Satan has appealed to Nebuchadnezzar's ego in a big way. Now he wants to be worshiped. He may have also used this as means to unite his kingdom. If everyone has to bow down to the pillar that represents Nebuchadnezzar, then everyone has a common focus.

But on the other hand, the statue is not designated as the image of a god, or the image of Belus; therefore we agree with Klief. in his opinion, that the statue was a symbol of the world-power established by Nebuchadnezzar, so that falling down before it was a manifestation of reverence not only to the world-power, but also to its gods; and that therefore the Israelites could not fall down before the image, because in doing so they would have rendered homage at the same time also to the god or gods of Nebuchadnezzar, in the image of the world-power.

 

The pillar was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, most likely like one of the obelisks in Egypt. Keil and Delitzsch suggest that the upper part was like a human and the lower part a pillar, based on the use of the Aramaic tselem. It was set up on the plain of Dura and was designed to impress people from a distance. Unfortunately we do not have the pillar any longer. Some future ruler probably pealed the gold from it and melted it down. All in all it would have been a very impressive sight.

The event was very political as well. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to impress everyone with just who was in charge.

Eight classes of officials called:

• Satraps—chief representatives of the king, "the chief representatives of the king in the provinces."
  
• Prefects—military commanders
  
• Governors—civil administrators—"the presidents of the civil government, the guardians of the country."
  
• Advisers—chief arbitrators, counselors of the government
  
• Treasurers—handled the money of the kingdom
  
• Judges—administrators of the law, guardians of the law, lawyers
  
• Magistrates—passed judgment in keeping with the law, judges in the narrow sense of the term
  
• Other provincial officials—anyone who had an official position in Nebuchadnezzar's government.
  
• Perhaps even Zedekiah had been summoned.
  

Since everyone was required to bow down indicates the religious significance of the statue along with the political significance. In the world of that day religion and government worked hand in hand. No discussion of separation of church and state. Nebuchadnezzar is most likely invoking a new level of religion—that is, worship of Nebuchadnezzar. He will be both head of state and head of religious affairs.

Everyone in the Babylonian empire is to recognize this. All peoples, nations, and men of every language were to accept the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. These officials would be expected to go back to their respective provinces and tell their people about the new government.

Preparations for the big celebration. Strike up the band. Nebuchadnezzar not only wanted to make a statement about his newfound significance, he also wanted to do everything he could to make it a memorable event. Just as we use music to set the stage for preaching, Nebuchadnezzar is using music to set the stage for his big announcement. Note the selection of instruments:

• Wind instruments—horn and pipes
  
  • The horn is the far-sounding tuba of the ancients
    
• A reed instrument—the flute—pan pipe
  
• Stringed instruments—zither, harp, lyre
  
• Some of the instruments had Greek names which show the interaction between cultures at that time.
  

The penalty—anyone who didn't show up to worship the image would be cast into a blazing fire. It is interesting how rulers who want to impress their followers often resort to penalties on those who fail to properly respond.

While we in Kenya from 1985-88 we went to a big political rally held in a park. It was a grand affair complete with parade, marching band, a total Air Force flyover (all six jets), and a parade of soldiers and the dozen tanks the army had. Most people went to the rally to see the air show and the parade. Then it came time for President Daniel Arap Moi to speak. There was a mass exodus for the gates of the park. But as people tried to leave they found the police had all the gates blocked. You had to stay and listen to the president speak. We had planned to leave also, but had to stay through the boring presentation made in Kiswahili and so we didn't understand any of it. President Moi used many tools to control his country so that he could remain in power. If someone in the press spoke out against Moi, he found himself in jail. People were not allowed to have ham radios or any other means of communicating with the outside world. That way all information flowing from the country could be controlled by the government.

The accusation

Everywhere you turn you find people whose goal in life is to catch someone else doing wrong. Especially is this true if it happens to be someone they don't like. Take the presidency for an example. Some see the president as some sort of divine messiah, a gift from God. But others hover like vultures waiting for the president to make a mistake so that they can say, "I told you so." So in the case of this image that Nebuchadnezzar set up, there were those who were keeping track of certain people to see if they would bow down to the image. The target of their interest was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

As soon as the astrologers (some of the court advisors) saw that the three Jewish boys were not in attendance they immediately went to Nebuchadnezzar and denounced them, literally, "tore them in pieces" (verbally). The astrologers were determined to destroy the boys. The boys were part of the captive population which should be under submission to the real Babylonians. Yet they had been given positions of great importance in the Babylonian government. The astrologers were also hoping to gain favor with the king by letting him know they were faithful when these Jewish boys weren't.

We do not know why Daniel was not included in the accusation. We can be sure that he did not bow down to the statue. Was he out of town? Was he too powerful to accuse by these astrologers? We have no answers.

A King's response

Nebuchadnezzar was furious. Regardless of what the boys had previously done, they were not exempt from this new ruling. Nebuchadnezzar did not pass judgment immediately, but waited to see what the boys had to say. When they appeared in his presence he reminded them of his authority and the fact that the decree would be carried out immediately if the boys did not bow down to the statue. He also reminded them that no god existed who could rescue them from his hand. Here we see that Nebuchadnezzar is claiming absolute authority in both political and religious realms. Under the influence of Satan he was actually challenging any god, including Yahweh, to confront his authority. So we have a power encounter developing. This is a challenge of wills and of power.

Display of Confidence

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego let the king know that they would put their trust in their God. Specifically they said that Yahweh could deliver them if he wanted, but even if he did not deliver them from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, they would remain faithful to Him. The authority of Yahweh superseded the power of Nebuchadnezzar. Yahweh had specifically told them they could not worship other gods. If that meant death, then so be it.

Deliverance 3:19-30

The faith of these boys did not impress, but only angered Nebuchadnezzar. To make his point he ordered the furnace heated up seven times greater than normal. The intent was to put the fear of Nebuchadnezzar in their hearts. Actually the hotter the fire the more quickly they would die. As the boys were tossed in the furnace, the men who threw them in were killed by the intense heat.

Nebuchadnezzar chose to observe the whole proceedings at a safe distance. He is amazed by several items:

• The boys are walking around in the furnace unbound
  
• There are four men in the furnace, one who looks like a son of the gods
  
• The boys were alive!
  

Nebuchadnezzar now approached the furnace and called for the "The servants of the Most High God" to come out. This was quite an admission on the part of Nebuchadnezzar. He had believed that the Babylonian gods were superior to Yahweh, but no Babylonian god ever delivered a person from a fiery furnace. Even in all of this Nebuchadnezzar did not acknowledge Yahweh as God.

When the boys walked out of the furnace there was no hint they had ever been in a fire. Anyone who has been around a campfire knows how pervasive smoke can be. When we had our house fire, the smell of smoke was throughout the entire house. The restoring people brought in ionization machines to clean out the unfriendly smoke smell. Did the process work? The answer is given by a kitchen cabinet door that had been removed and placed in the garage. It did not experience the ionization process. When we got ready to hang the door again, the smell of smoke was very strong in the door and it took weeks of scrubbing and cleaning to get the smell of smoke out. But these boys had not been singed, they had not experienced any form of pain.

Nebuchadnezzar's response

He honored the boys and threatened those who would attack them again with severe penalties. God had won the victory again.

 

Watch out for Falling Rocks, part II

One sign you seldom see in Kansas and Nebraska on the highway is "Watch out for falling rocks." But in Colorado you see them on a regular basis. The legend is told that an old Indian chief lost his son. The chief went through all the mountains of the west putting up signs for people to look for his son. The signs said, "Watch for Falling Rocks." Okay, that was bad, but it is true that on many roads in Colorado you need to watch for falling rocks.

While I attended and later taught at Intermountain Bible College in Grand Junction, Colorado I spent a great deal of time up the Colorado River in the metropolises of Grand Valley (now Parachute) and Rifle. I was only a freshman at IBC when I began traveling to Grand Valley with Harry Scates who was the senior minister there. Our route was to go through the Debeque Canyon where the Colorado River has cut out the canyon in the sandstone creating high bluffs and spectacular scenery. But sometimes the scenery took a notion to move and when it did it was not uncommon for a big 100 ton rock to wind up in the middle of the highway. Two of these events come to mind.

The first was in 1957-58. On this occasion it was more than a big rock, but the entire mountainside moved almost damming up the Colorado River. The highway was closed for several weeks while they rerouted the road and shoved the mountainside into the riverbed. Harry and I even took the train one weekend to get to Grand Valley. There was a road around the canyon, but it was graveled only and slow going. If I were to take to the Debeque Canyon I could show you the exact spot of the landslide.

A footnote to this event. A man was traveling down the canyon when he realized the slide was coming. The speed limit was 60 mph, so he was going way too fast to stop. The man jammed on the brakes locking the rear wheels of the car. He shifted the car into reverse, gunned the engine and the transmission and drive line miraculously handled the shock, and the car shot backwards just barely missing the slide.

The next experience with a big rock was in 1967-68. On this particular day I was commuting from Rifle where I was preaching to Grand Junction to teach. Coming around a blind corner I saw a huge rock in the highway ahead. Fortunately it had already landed and I had ample time to get stopped. There was room to get around it and I was able to go on. I remember my passenger, the elderly Otto Duckworth, about had a heart attack when he saw the rock. It was big enough that if it had hit railroad engine it would completely destroyed it with room to spare.

Living in Colorado gave us an awareness of the power of big rocks and what they could do. My father came close to death when a rock dropped from the ceiling of an underground mine. The miner's helmet he wore saved his life.

Today as we look at Daniel we are going to witness the story of another big rock. Jesus talked about this rock when he said, "Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures,

The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief corner stone;

This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes?

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.""(Matthew 21:42-44 NASB) 

Jesus is echoing a spectacular event in the book of Daniel. It is a story about the power of one amazing big stone. And now to that story we turn in the book of Daniel.  

The Background of Daniel

Daniel was a teenager when along with a number of other young me he was taken to Babylon as a hostage by Nebuchadnezzar II in 605 BC. In less than 20 years Babylonia had risen from an unknown entity to the leading nation of the world. Babylonia had conquered all comers, including the once powerful Assyrians and Egyptians. The world stood in awe of this power. Theologically, all nations believed that their power was dependent on their gods. Obviously Babylonia's gods were the most powerful. In fact no god was able to stand before them and as far as the world knew that list included the God of Israel—Yahweh.

What they did not know was that Yahweh had given Babylonia its power In order to punish the adversaries of Israel and of greatest significance to punish Israel for her unfaithfulness to Him. Jeremiah and Habakkuk especially discuss this in their prophecies. 

Along with Daniel were three other fine young men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These boys were dumped into a quagmire of pagan, idolatrous worship and threatened with being overpowered by the demonic forces at work in Babylon. Imagine four teenage boys separated from all the restrictions they had previously known. No prophets of Yahweh preaching doom anymore. No parents telling them to pick up their dirty clothes and wanting to spoil their fun. No government leaders making demands. These boys were free to do whatever the Babylonian society allowed. The sky was the limit. These boys would learn about spiritual warfare at its highest (lowest?) levels. They were in a "get-down-and-dirty" spiritual world. Remember, these boys are teenagers? How many teenagers do we know today who were dropped into such circumstances survive? I know a few. I also know those who fall to the lure of what the devil has to offer. In a college town we see hundreds of them taking the plunge into hedonism and sin.  

Just like Joseph, over a thousand years earlier, these boys were thrust into a situation where they could do what they pleased because no one was watching. For all of them, someone was watching. That unseen force would keep them in line in all circumstances.  

They are not in the city of Babylon very long when they are recognized as being quite handsome and talented. I've never had to deal with either gift, but I know those who do. They are given by the grace of God a greater challenge than us common folk. The Hollywood crowd is so proud of itself that it regularly performs public acts of self-adulation. In February we had the Oscars in which those who consider themselves the best of society in turn chose the ones they considered the best in their sub-culture. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were blessed with that issue. Note what the book of Daniels says: 

3     Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his ²officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ³royal family and of the nobles,

     4     youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for ¹serving in the king's ²court; and he ordered him to teach them the ³literature and language of the Chaldeans.

     5     The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be ¹educated three years, at the end of which they were to ²enter the king's personal service.

     6     Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

     7     Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.  

Several things to note about these boys:

• They were high bred and came from high class families in Israel. Actually God rescued them from a culture that was rapidly becoming more pagan than what they would find in Babylon. Their move here was an act of protection. They most likely had received whatever education the nobility of Jerusalem received—primarily reading and understanding the Torah. What else they may have learned we do not know.
  
• They were good looking with no defects. Imagine being checked over by someone to see if you have defects. In Israel only priests had to be free of defects. As far as we know these boys were not from priestly families. This may have been one of the considerations for their selection to go to Babylon in the first place. Nebuchadnezzar had a habit of taking the best of people he found to be in his country where they could be productive for him. His hope was that he would win their loyalty and their commitment to him and his country. Young boys would be especially malleable
  
• The boys were intelligent and capable of being trained. They had the characteristics that would make them do well in school. They were the kind of scholarly material for which the Babylonian government looked. They would serve well in government and ultimately provide strength for the government. They were to be taught Babylonian language and literature. That would be the Aramaic language and of course Aramaic literature. This would have been written in a cuneiform style script. Simply, these boys were to be given the best education that Babylonia could provide. In a special way God was preparing leaders by giving them an excellent education. They would be trained for three years and then enter the King's service. That means they would have a place on the king's advisory staff, be well paid, have nice homes, and all the amenities that accompanied such positions. Smith says about this:  

Those selected were to undergo a thorough program of education and indoctrination—a virtual Babylonian brainwashing! They studied the literature and language of the Chaldean people.⁵ The subject matter no doubt included language, astronomy, mathematics, natural history, mythological literature, agriculture, and architecture. These young men were not being trained as soothsayers, but as upper-level administrators and advisors.⁶ Nonetheless, the purpose of this curriculum was to change the way these young men thought—their worldview, their value system (1:4b). 

• Daniel and his friends were to be given the best of food from the king's table—best wine, best desserts, richest cuts of meat. But here a problem arises. For the first time in the history of the Bible there is a dietary challenge presented. Prior to this, except that it is mentioned in the Law of Moses, little consideration is given to what can or cannot be eaten. Another aspect of brainwashing is being employed. The goal here was to change the lifestyle of these young men.
  
  
• New names. Look at the comparison chart. The young men would give up their God/Yahweh honoring names and take on names that honored Babylonian deities. This time the goal of the government is to change the loyalties of the boys. Their teachers knew that the boys came from a religious background. Religion was also important to the Babylonians and they wanted the boys to recognize and serve the gods of Babylon.  

BRAINWASHING THROUGH NAME CHANGE
HEBREW NAME	MEANING	BABYLONIAN NAME	MEANING
HANANIAH MISHAEL AZARIAH DANIEL	"The Lord is Gracious" "Who is What God is?" "The Lord has helped" "God is my Judge"	SHADRACH MESHACH ABED-NEGO BELTESHAZZAR	"Command of Aku" "Who is what Aku is?" "Servant of Nebo" "May Balak protect"

What the Babylonians were to learn was simple. You can change my name and you can send me to school, but you are not going to change the "main man" that is down inside me. Daniel made the decision that he would not defile himself by eating the king's food.  

"Defile" here is in reference to the laws of Moses. Food was a large issue in the law of Moses. There were rules about the kind of meat you could eat, the kind of birds you eat, the kind of seafood you could have and even the bugs you could eat. "Defile" is in reference to moral and spiritual defilement. Daniel knew that if he ate from the king's table he would be morally and spiritually defiled. This is the only time in the Old Testament where we have a Jewish person taking issue with the food being served. But the issue of defilement looms large in the time of Daniel and the period after the Babylonian exile.  

Seventh Day Adventists today point to this passage to bolster their claims that we should all be vegetarians. But there are much larger issues here. The demonic forces plan to use food to help lure Daniel and his friends away from the worship of the True and Living God. Daniel asked for a special dispensation and willingly submitted himself to a test to prove that he was right. The official was concerned. If Daniel and his friends looked sickly then it could be his head. Daniel asked for ten days to demonstrate that the diet would work. If not, they would eat the food from the King's table. The test—eat only vegetables or grains for ten days. No meat of any kind and no wine. Water only.

We do not know why Daniel made such a decision. Was he trying to demonstrate his faith or to display his confidence in his faith. One suggestion is that he had a heavenly vision that told him to do this. Because of Daniel's closeness to God, this may well be the case. Issues that would have prompted Daniel were:

• The meat could have been unacceptable. Babylonians ate pork and horsemeat. Both were forbidden by the Law of Moses.
  
• Any meat provided would not have been prepared in a kosher style. This refers first to the way the animal is killed and then to how the blood is handled from the animal.
  
• There was strong likelihood that any meat provided had previously been offered to an idol which would make it sacred meat. Probably this is the only type of meat the king used because it would afford him spiritual power and special physical strength. Even in his eating he was worshiping his deities. Though this is never an issue in the Old Testament it certainly does become one in the New Testament. Paul clearly warns his followers not to eat meat sacrificed to idols. The meat has not changed, but the message the meat sends has.
  
• Wine was often poured out as drink offerings (libations) to the gods, so there was even a religious
  
• Daniel can eat grains and vegetables because these were not likely to be offered to idols.  

Some factors to be considered:

At first glance this request seems simple enough, but a number of factors rendered this a courageous act. Stephen Miller makes the following points: 

• To refuse the royal diet could have been taken as an insult to the king and as an act of direct disobedience to Nebuchadnezzar's orders.
  
• Pressure from Daniel's peers most certainly made the decision difficult. Everyone else was doing it. By choosing this course of action, Daniel and his friends were setting themselves apart from the others. Now they were different, strange.
  
• Such unorthodox behavior could have jeopardized their chances for advancement.
  
• The quality of food would have been attractive. It was the best in the land.
  
• Their new location may have tempted them to be unfaithful. Judah was nine hundred miles away; parents and friends would never know whether or not they kept God's laws. Yet Daniel and his friends were aware of a very important fact. Other people might not know their actions, but God would know, and someday all will give an account of themselves to him.
  
• It would have been natural to argue that since God had not protected them from captivity—this horrible situation—they did not have to be careful to obey his commands. They could have become bitter toward God during this time. Sometimes believers fall into this trap. All of these factors could have caused some people to compromise, but Daniel and his friends remained faithful to their God. 

The chief eunuch or overseer allowed Daniel and his friends to take the test. At the end of the ten days he saw that the Hebrew boys looked better than those who ate from the king's table. They were not more chubby, but their flesh had a better texture to it. He removed the four from the royal diet permanently. Most likely the other boys had indulged a little too much in the rich food from the king's diet and had more wine than they needed; thus they didn't look so good.  

When the time of education was complete the four boys were interviewed by Nebuchadnezzar himself. The conclusion of the author of Daniel says that the boys were ten times wiser than anyone in the kingdom of Babylonia. Daniel would serve in the king's court until the days of Cyrus when the Persians defeated the Babylonians (539 BC). With the help of God Daniel passed the course with flying colors.  

But God is beginning to quietly demonstrate his power over the Babylonians. Probably even Daniel did not know the real agenda that was represented by the food. "The change in the appearance of the young men was the result of God's grace, not the properties of the foods consumed."

Nebuchadnezzar's personal encounter with the Big Rock

As we move into chapter two of Daniel we are immediately brought face to face with a serious problem that could radically affect the lives of Daniel and his three friends.

First, we learn that Nebuchadnezzar experienced a bad dream. The dream troubled his spirit and kept him from getting any more sleep. Remember, these people placed much more stock in dreams than we do today. So a bad dream might very well be bad news. Note the parallels between this event and the story of Joseph.

Joseph and Pharaoh	Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar
Joseph brought out of prison	Daniel brought from Jerusalem into exile
Pharaoh has bad dreams	Nebuchadnezzar has a very bad dream
Pharaoh does not understand his dream	Nebuchadnezzar does not understand his dream
Pharaoh tells the dream to his advisors	Nebuchadnezzar demands his advisors tell him the dream and explain its meaning
Pharaoh's advisors are unable to explain the dream	Nebuchadnezzar's advisors are unable to tell the king his dream. They offend the king further by suggesting that "no real king" would make such a demand
	Nebuchadnezzar threatens to kill all the advisors and turn their homes into public toilets
Joseph is brought forward and he is able to explain the dream	Daniel pleads for time and is able to explain the dream
As a result of Joseph's skill in explaining the dream he is made number 2 in all of Egypt	"Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court." Daniel 1:31

 

King Nebuchadnezzar had a bad dream. The usual procedure for such an experience would be to bring the matter to court where all the advisors were, tell the dream, and then the advisors would play with it for a while in an attempt to explain the dream. But they had never been challenged like this before. Nebuchadnezzar may have had a bad dream, but he is not going to tell them what it was. Perhaps he was weary of their phony ministrations and explanations when it was that they had no idea about that of which they spoke. Perhaps he was weary of fawning men in front of him who were currying favor with him so that they could make special requests. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar was a shrewd, intelligent man who had seen through their little game. Right after the dream is mentioned, Daniel switches to Aramaic. The book of Daniel is in Aramaic from Daniel 2:4 to the end of the seventh chapter.

Now the pressure is on. And to make it worse, some advisor who was long on lip and short on brains suggested that no real king would make such a request. Even if the statement were true, it was not a smart political move. The person who has little respect for life is the one to make such a demand. Nebuchadnezzar became extremely angry and ordered his guard to begin the execution of all the wise men in Babylon. This would include Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Daniel did not attend the fateful meeting, but it wasn't long before the king's guard was at Daniel's home. Their intent was to arrest and execute Daniel. Daniel boldly went to the king and requested an audience so that he could explain the dream. Then he rushed home and told his friends they needed to do some serious praying to gain God's assistance in resolving this life-and-death issue.

Remember these are not older, seasoned warriors, but young men who have barely graduated from the University of Babylon. Suddenly they are thrust into the crisis mode. Up to this point the test of their faith was over what they would eat. Now the test is whether or not God is going to allow them to live. They put their trust where it ought to be—in God and the power of prayer. Later we will discover that these men are willing to die for their faith rather than go against God's will. But at this moment they cannot be sure of what is going to happen.

Daniel 2:19 says, "Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." (NASB). Daniel praises God for his greatness and thanks him for the wisdom he needed to tell and explain the vision which Nebuchadnezzar had. When Daniel appears before the king, Daniel explains that no human could tell and explain the vision, but there is a God in heaven who able to do so.

This brings us to the heart of matter—Nebuchadnezzar's bad dream. Nebuchadnezzar saw a giant image made up of different types of metal. In the conclusion of the dream he also saw a stone cut out of a mountain that came and destroyed the image. Following is a simple chart explaining the dream. We also need to be aware that this chart is also the basic outline of the book of Daniel. This chart will be expanded in later visions that Daniel has, but they will all follow the same pattern. The chart is the development of history. It goes far beyond the time of Daniel. If we believe that Daniel wrote this book, then we have to believe that God revealed him this information. Modern scholars have challenged this idea claiming that Daniel did not write the book, but someone in 165 BC wrote the book, purporting it to be prophecy when in reality is was a description of the history from Daniel's time to the time of the Romans. Later in the book of Daniel the detail will become even more significant. Thus one is forced to make a choice. Can God foretell history with this sort of accuracy? Or is this really history put in prophetic form?

The "Parts" of the Dream	The meaning of the parts
A single great statue, large, extraordinary splendor, appearance awesome	World history
The Head of fine gold	Babylonia	2:36-38
Breast and arms of silver	Medo-Persian	2:39a
Thighs of Bronze	Greece	2:39b
Legs of iron	Roman empire	2:40
Feet of clay mingled with iron	Roman empire with its satellite states, usually ruled by local rulers, not Romans	2:41-43
Stone from the mountain	Kingdom of God	2:44-45

We have to remember that Nebuchadnezzar is the most powerful man in the world at this time. He has been granted this power by the God of heaven, but Nebuchadnezzar either credits his own gods or even worse, credits himself. He is a great man because of what he has accomplished. Without his direct knowledge, Nebuchadnezzar is also being directed by Satan in his activities. Later Daniel will tell us that there are demonic forces who are influencing world empires. Daniel tells us that God's angels are responding in kind to the demonic forces. 

As we often see in the Bible, Satan assumes he has won a great victory because of his success over the people of God. He has effectively tempted them and led them into sin. In some situations he has participated in their downfall and destruction. But God has other plans for his people who are in Babylonia. He is determined to protect them in order that he may bring them back to Israel after 70 years.

What we have here is a direct frontal attack on Daniel and his friends. The attack is like the one Satan used to try to destroy Jesus at his birth. Herod the Great sent his army into the little town of Bethlehem and had all of the young boys, two years and younger, put to death. Herod's plan was to wipe out Jesus which likewise was Satan's plan. What better way to end God's program of salvation than to nip it in the bud—destroy the child before he can do anything? This is exactly the same plan facing Daniel. Satan arranged for the death of all the wise men in Babylonia which of course included Daniel and his three friends. They are still young and by destroying them Satan can minimize any opportunities the four would have to do good for Israel or for the worldwide kingdom of God.

They statue may be big and awesome, but it is vulnerable if a big rock fall on it. That big rock represented the power of God.

Nations will rise and fall, but all will come under the stone of the Kingdom of God. No kingdom or nation is too big. Satan may advise and guide, but he will not be ultimately successful.

Big Rock Falling!

The Babylonian Empire came to an end in 539 BC and today if you go to the city of Babylon you will find only ruins. The last inhabitants of Babylon disappeared around AD 600. Since that time no one has lived there. When archaeologists began to uncover the old city during the 1800s, they could not get workers to stay in the city. The workers said the city was full of evil spirits and they were not about to stay there.

The Medo-Persian Empire would come to a terrible end at the hands of Alexander the Great around 323 BC.

The Greek Empire started by Alexander the Great would be taken over by the Roman Empire by 150 BC.

Finally, the Roman Empire, and the later Holy Roman Empire, would come to an end as well.

But the Rock, the Kingdom of God is still rolling along. The power of God will ultimately rule over all the world.