Daniel 3:4-7

Daniel 3:4-7

[4] Then an herald  cried  aloud,  To you it is commanded,  O people,  nations,  and languages,  [5] That at what time  ye hear  the sound  of the cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  dulcimer,  and all  kinds  of musick,  ye fall down  and worship  the golden  image  that Nebuchadnezzar  the king  hath set up:  [6] And whoso  not  down  and worshippeth  shall the same hour  be cast  into the midst  of a burning  fiery  furnace.  [7] Therefore  at that time,  when  all  the people  heard  the sound  of the cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  and all  kinds  of musick,  all  the people,  the nations,  and the languages,  fell down  and worshipped  the golden  image  that Nebuchadnezzar  the king  had set up. 

What does Daniel 3:4-7 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The musical instruments referred to ( Daniel 3:5; Daniel 3:7) also have Persian names. [1] Some of these instruments were Greek as well. The Greeks had an influence on Babylonia earlier than Daniel"s time. [2] These were various wind and stringed instruments. [1] The Babylonians seem to have been an almost music-crazed culture (cf. Psalm 137:3; Isaiah 14:11). [4]
"The story of the three young men who were thrown into the fire because they would not worship the image ( Daniel 3), brings to mind the great brick-kilns outside the city, where the bricks required for certain purposes in the vast building projects of Nebuchadnezzar were baked. Some of these great ovens were found in the [5] excavations. Worth noting in this connection is a rather Solomonic judicial directive of the ruler Rim Sin (1750 B.C.), which appears in a recently published document of the Yale Babylonian Collection. He speaks thus concerning four men of Larsa: "Because they threw a young slave into an oven, throw ye a slave into a furnace." Clearly, that sort of thing was nothing new in Babylonia." [6]
Other authorities believed the furnace was beehive or funnel-shaped and was constructed of metal. [7]
In the Tribulation, the Antichrist will command everyone to worship him and his image ( Revelation 13:3-18).