When the fourth Man shows up…
The Book of Daniel speaks of three Hebrew young men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo who were amongst the captives in Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Neb (I will call him for short) was a megalomaniac, a narcissist of the highest order. One day King Neb decided to build a gigantic statue of himself and then require the entire nation of Babylon to bow and worship it on cue.
Realizing this was forced idolatry, the 3 Hebrew men refused to do so, even though Neb had threatened to throw any dissenters into a burning, fiery oven. Sticking with their guns to the end, the 3 were bound and thrown headlong into the raging inferno. And here is where the story gets supernatural. The flames should have instantly incinerated them, but didn’t. And suddenly, walking about in the belly of the inferno with them, appeared a fourth Man.
King Neb peered into the oven astonished at what he saw. No harm had come to the 3. Their hair wasn’t singed, their clothes weren’t burned, and not even the smell of fire was on them. They were “loosed and walking” in the fire. So the only thing destroyed by the fire were the ropes that had bound them!
On the spot, King Neb had a revelation. He shouted in amazement, “The form of the fourth man is like the Son of God!” And that is EXACTLY who it was. The fourth Man was a Christophany—Jesus Christ appearing in history before His incarnation. Our Jesus stepped into their greatest trial to protect and liberate them.
If he did that for 3 Hebrew men in the OT, what will He do for you and me? Jesus is Lord even over the “burning ovens” of life. In this time of fiery trial, EXPECT to see the fourth Man, even Jesus, walking through it with you. We will come out with a testimony of His goodness, just like the 3 did. God’s got this!