Daniel 3:1-28

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

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

Then an herald cried aloud, "To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 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: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." 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.

Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?"

They answered and said unto the king, "True, O king."

He answered and said, "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither."

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

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

Election Tomorrow!

For South Carolina readers of this blog, the primary election is tomorrow, June 10th. In most cases my recommendation would be to simply vote against the incumbents in the Republican primary; but one might find in fact find it more appropriate to vote in the Democratic primary for two candidates with ideas more like those of Ron Paul Republicans. These candidates are Bob Conley for Senate, and Ted Christian for 4th District Congress. However, if one votes in the Democratic primary for these candidates, he will not be able to vote for Republicans running for State House and Senate who would be a benefit to Gov. Sanford, such as Patrick Haddon or Wendy Nanney. You Decide.

The bottom line is, party affiliation was not something intended by the Founders to begin with. We really must get out of such "loyalties" if we are to accomplish anything principled. Once again, please do not vote for the candidate who has "contributed" the most to the Party, or who "can win." Vote with your principles. Tomorrow, make sure to think when you press buttons!

From Josiah


P.S. Here are the great results of a FOX News poll asking, "Would you ever vote for a third-party presidential candidate?"

YCLA Update

I stocked up on Chick tracts from church on Sunday night. :-) I got about 75. We missed going on a tract-passing expedition for May; I hope we will have time here in June! However, our family is probably going to be fairly busy this summer.

Also, I put the post on Edward VI as the YCLA Feature Column for this month, after editing it slightly. The one on our vision, etc. had actually been there for two months (both April and May).... I hope to soon be getting other people to write the Feature Columns, if possible.

Our prisoner to write to and pray for this month is from China: Alimujiang Yimiti.

And, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to Answers Magazine! That is the best way you can physically help us right now. You can go to www.YoungChristianLeaders.org/answersmag.aspx for more info, and to get involved in this project to "rebuild the Biblical worldview" as the motto of the magazine is. But spiritual help is especially good, so remember to pray for our group as you do so!


Thanks from Josiah

Edward VI: A Hero of the Reformation

Recently, I bought a book on king Edward VI of Britain by N. A. Woychuck, entitled "The British Josiah: Edward VI, the Most Godly King of England." While one reason I got it may be obvious ;-), the main reason is that I didn't know of anywhere else I could get a complete biography of this fabulous character of 450 years ago.

Edward VI has been more or less one of my heros since I learned of him. He became king in 1547 when he was nine years old, but unfortunately, died just before he turned sixteen (supposedly of tuberculosis; but perhaps by poisoning). He was one of the main movers involved in circulating the Bible to the common people. He is also known as one of the most just and compassionate kings in history!

His father, Henry VIII, had appointed a Privy Council to help Edward govern. Most of the book is in relation to this body, addressing the almost-continuous power struggles between its members. Dealing with the power struggles was perhaps Edward's greatest challenge.

Much of the book also describes Edward's education and family relations. He had two sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, both of whom would become queens. One was very bad, the other very good, respectively.

Edward loved to write, and what is even more worth the while than the main book is a short booklet written by Edward himself, included as an appendix. This article is absolutely outstanding! It is entitled Against the Primacy of the Pope, and was intended to be distributed through England. Apparently, the public was rather adverse to the idea of the Reformation, even though Edward was extremely popular as a personality. Thus, Edward realized the only way to bring them to fully reject the Catholic persausion was to produce a thought-out, understandable booklet with his name physically attached. He completed this work when he was twelve. However, it was not published until shortly before his death, after which the infamous Bloody Mary came to the monarchy and restored Catholicism.

Edward's booklet is full of common sense and truth. It sounds to me like Ron Paul with a regal twist. In it, he addresses such subjects as, "Is Rome the Mother of All Churches?," "Contrast Between Jesus and Pope," and "Can a Lawful Council be Called by a Pope Seeking Election?," which shows the logical fallacy of stating that the Pope is superior to other bishops by the decree of a Council. Here is a passage from it:

"But to the matter in hand. I will ask, whether a lawful council can be called but by the pope? To which, I am sure, the papists will answer negatively. Then I ask, if the pope can call a Council before his election? To which I know they will reply, he cannot. If then no council is lawful without a pope, and that none who is laboring to be elected pope can assemble a council, then the council which confirms the pope as superior over the church, is not lawful, because it was not convocated by a pope, there being none elected."

Edward's escatological position is predictably Historicist. For example, he states near the end of the work he believes that the two eyes of the "little horn" of Daniel represent "the pope and Mahomet." His interpretation is unique in that he recognized that the Papal and Islamic systems, even though they often disagree, are of the same essential substance and origination.

Edward's greatest acheivements in England were to create schools and hospitals for the poor, to end officially-sanctioned idol worship, Mass, and other Catholic rituals, to reform the monetary system and end silver debasement (inflation), and to work to end the practice of executing religious "heretics," whether Protestant or Catholic. This last effort was almost unheard of in Europe at the time. Edward was a true champion of Biblical supremacy.

I am definitely grateful that God has raised up such people as king Edward VI in history to inspire us. Let us pray that we will be more like them, and continue to fulfill their vision and legacy! Let us also, like Edward, remember to consistently cry to God: "O Lord, save Thy people!"


-R. Josiah Magnuson

Paul and Baldwin to speak at JBS

Ron Paul and Chuck Baldwin will be the main speakers at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the John Birch Society, according to the JBS website (http://www.jbs.org/50th). I found out about this event at the Daily Paul (http://www.dailypaul.com/node/51453#comments). It will take place October 2-5, 2008 in Appleton, Wisconsin.

There is really no reason for Ron Paul supporters to reject supporting Chuck Baldwin. Dr. Baldwin is the only candidate who will be on the ballot in November with the exact principles of Ron Paul. Bob Barr (the Libertarian) takes a position on immigration which sounds deceptively similar to "open borders." And, Chuck Baldwin at least has a chance of winning the support of the Huckabee and Romney people due to his Christian emphasis. Bob Barr seems a completely secular candidate, which is my problem with the Libertarian Party to begin with.

Ron Paul I believe sees things the same way regarding the Libertarians, since he boldly noted on the Mike Gallagher show last summer that he is "a constititutionalist, not a Libertarian." Also, Mike Peroutka, the previous CP nominee for President, stated to me at his conference last July that Ron Paul was the only sitting Congressman to contribute to his campaign (on which Baldwin was the VP nominee) in 2004. So not only did Chuck Baldwin work very hard for Ron Paul, Dr. Paul gave funds to Chuck Baldwin's previous campaign!

Hopefully, Ron Paul will actually endorse Chuck Baldwin in the near future and then there will be very little debate on this subject. :-)


-Josiah

P.S. I found a map of current Constitution Party ballot access throughout the states. View it here!

A video from Buddy Witherspoon

Senator Lindsey Graham receives award from La Raza for promoting the "pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens" and defending the best interests of the Hispanic community. La Raza in English means "The Race", and they are widely viewed as a racist organization. Senator Graham crossed the line on March 6th 2007 when he accepted an award from this organization and in his keynote address at La Raza's Awards Dinner called you a "Bigot" and said that you need to "shut up" if you were against his Comprehensive Immigration (Amnesty) Reform Bill. To view the 4 minute video go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sEfrFoAIn4

Buddy Witherspoon's campaign site is http://www.buddywitherspoon.com/