Lesson 12 Precursors

                       Lesson 12 Precursors
                      (Daniel 2-3, Acts 12) 
     
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D.  Scripture quotations are
from the ESV  Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright   2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: How does temptation come to you? Is it in the
big issues or the small issues of life? Our study this week
is about two stories where young men faced losing their
lives for being faithful to God. You may be thinking, "I've
never had anything like that, and I hope I never will!"
Remember, however, that some of these young men started out
with the issue of their loyalty to God when it came to diet.
Is it possible that we have not faced the big, dramatic
choices because we fail in the small choices? Or, have we
lost sight of the big picture   that all issues of loyalty
to God, both large and small, are important? Let's dive into
our study of the Bible and see what we can learn about being
loyal to God under terrible pressure!

I.   The Dream

     A.   Read Daniel 2:1-3. Have you ever had a dream that
          bothered you? Has a dream caused you to lose
          sleep?

          1.   Have you ever thought your dream was (or could
               be) a message from God?

          2.   Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar was so
               troubled about his dream? (Kings know they are
               important. Therefore, their dreams must be
               important. The New Bible Commentary tells us
               that in the ancient Near East kings believed
               the gods gave them messages through dreams.)

               a.   Would the true God give Nebuchadnezzar a
                    message through a dream? (Read Daniel
                    2:29. God gave Nebuchadnezzar his dream.)

     B.   Read Daniel 2:4-6. What kind of a boss was
          Nebuchadnezzar?

          1.   Do you think this group of experts regretted
               what they said in verse 4?

     C.   Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar insisted on his
          experts telling him the details of his dream?
          (Read Daniel 2:8-9. Nebuchadnezzar believed that
          they had been lying to him. If they could tell the
          future through a dream, it should be a small
          matter to describe the contents of his dream. This
          was a test of both their honesty and their ability
          to correctly interpret the dream. If they were not
          going to tell him the truth, what purpose was
          there in keeping them around? The problem with
          interpreting dreams was that they could tell him
          anything. Now Nebuchadnezzar had a solid way to
          test what he was being told.)

     D.   Let's skip down and read Daniel 2:17-18.
          Apparently Daniel was promised more time by the
          King. Why did Daniel need to have his friends pray
          about this trial? (Daniel must have believed that
          having a group pray is better.)

          1.   Do you agree that group prayer is better?
               (Read Matthew 18:19-20.)

     E.   Read Daniel 2:19. God comes through! What does
          Daniel do after God reveals the mystery? (He
          praises God!)

     F.   Read Daniel 2:27-28. Notice that Daniel does not
          mention his own name even once. He says nothing
          about his role in this revelation. Why?

     G.   Read Daniel 2:29-30. Finally, Daniel mentions his
          own role in things. Study Daniel's words in these
          verses. How does he explain his role, the King's
          role, and God's role in this process?

     H.   Read Daniel 2:31-34. We are not going to dive into
          the details of this prophetic dream, except to say
          that it outlines the future history of the world!

          1.   When you have seen an artist's rendering of
               this image, did it look "frightening?"

     I.   Read Daniel 2:46-47. Did Nebuchadnezzar get the
          message about who this was all about? (Not
          exactly. Not only does the King fall down before
          Daniel, but he says "you were able to reveal this
          mystery." However, Nebuchadnezzar does get the
          message that the great God of Heaven is the "God
          of gods and the Lord of kings.")

II.  The Next Problem

     A.   Read Daniel 3:1. The SDA Bible Commentary notes
          that this image is about the same height as the
          Statue of Liberty in New York City harbor. (Not
          including the pedestal under the statue.) What do
          you think inspired King Nebuchadnezzar to
          commission this ten-story artwork? (Without doubt
          this is the result of the dream which Daniel
          interpreted.)

          1.   Right away I see some artistic license being
               taken with the image in the dream. How does
               the actual image deviate from the image in the
               dream? (Read Daniel 2:37-38. In the dream,
               only the head was made of gold. The head was
               the only part that represented
               Nebuchadnezzar.)

          2.   If you were Nebuchadnezzar, why would you want
               to make the entire image gold? Fidelity to the
               dream could save you a lot of money! (Who
               wants to be reminded that they (and their
               kingdom) are mortal and have limited days? Of
               course, there is also the matter of that pesky
               stone (Daniel 2:34-35) that is best
               forgotten.)

               a.   Whose face do you think was on this
                    image?

     B.   Read Daniel 3:3-5. Did the people know in advance
          that this was not an ordinary dedication ceremony
            that this was primarily a religious event?

     C.   Read again Daniel 2:46-47. How could King
          Nebuchadnezzar get so badly off track?

     D.   Read Daniel 2:49. Do you think Daniel had advance
          knowledge of what the King had in mind for the
          dedication ceremony? (It was Daniel who
          interpreted the dream. It was Daniel who served in
          the royal court. Of course he knew this huge
          statue was being built on the Dura plain. However,
          Nebuchadnezzar might have thought, given the
          actual dream, that it was best not to tell Daniel
          what he had in mind and send Daniel off on a
          business trip. It would seem out of character for
          Daniel to have advance knowledge of the worship
          requirement, arrange his own out-of-town trip, and
          not warn his three friends.)

     E.   Read Daniel 3:6. What is the reason for the fiery
          furnace part of this command? Was there a loyalty
          issue in the kingdom? (Maybe Daniel and his three
          friends were winning converts to the true God.)

     F.   Read Daniel 3:8-12. How do you think the "native
          wise men" viewed Daniel and his three friends?
          (Captured slaves promoted over you? The idea was
          scandalous! I am confident these guys soon forgot
          that their lives were saved by Daniel and that
          there was plenty of jealousy among the "native
          wise men" over the power and authority of these
          Jewish captives.)

     G.   Read Daniel 3:13-16. Why do you think
          Nebuchadnezzar asked the three friends if this was
          true? (He appreciated them.)

          1.   Why do you think the three friends answered,
               "we have no need to answer you?" (The question
               was "who is the god" who will save you? 
               Nebuchadnezzar knew exactly who was their
               God.)

     H.   Read Daniel 3:17-18. What do you say about the "if
          not" statement by the three friends? (Such faith!)

     I.   Read Daniel 3:22-26. Which God saved them?

     J.   Read Daniel 3:30. Want to live a successful life?

III. Peter

     A.   Read Acts 12:1-3. Do you recall the story of
          James' mother coming to Jesus to ask that her sons
          (James and John) sit at the right hand of Jesus in
          His kingdom? It is found at Matthew 20:20-23.)

          1.   Read Matthew 20:22-23. Has James drunk from
               Jesus' cup? Is this what James' mother had in
               mind? (This is a perfect illustration of the
               contradiction of the gospel. Jesus wants us to
               be blessed. His commandments are intended to
               help us lead a better life. But being a
               follower of Jesus sometimes means that we
               suffer. Hebrews 11 recounts this disparate
               treatment, but promises us that all will
               eventually have what God has promised.)

     B.   Read Acts 12:4-6. Is this excessive? Sixteen
          soldiers to guard one preacher who is in chains in
          prison?

          1.   If you were Peter, would you fear? Would you
               think about the three friends of Daniel? Would
               you think about James and the Daniel 3:17-18
               "if not" statement by the three friends?
               (Peter is sleeping!)

     C.   Read Acts 12:7-10. Is Peter surprised by God? 

     D.   Read Acts 12:12-15. Are those praying for Peter
          surprised by God? Surprised by the answer to
          prayer?

     E.   Go back and read Acts 12:11. Was Peter certain he
          would be rescued? Is he like the three friends?

     F.   Friend, Revelation tells us that as the end of the
          earth draws close we will face serious challenges
          to our faith. Will you determine, like Daniel and
          his three friends, and like Peter, to remain
          faithful to God and trust Him whatever happens?

IV.  Next week: Images of the End.