The boys spoke right up and answered the civil authority in a very calm manner. They did not argue or fuss; rather, they quietly told him what the Lord God demanded of them. The civil authority became enraged; the magistrate could not imagine that anyone would have the nerve to resist his claim of authority over all religion; he was in- furiated to think there was someone who would not recognize his authority.
The most mighty men. The civil authority turns loose its best against those who refuse to recognize its authority over their obedience to God's Word. Thus God's people see the heat, fiery furnace and the great army of mighty men, so they forget that God is the one who established them. They are there only because God permitted it. Furthermore, we are currently in the "hot spot" because God's people in the past have refused to take a stand on the Lord's authority: they willingly bowed down to the surrounding false gods of the heathens, and now bowing is expected of everyone.
And yielded their bodies. These four words are Romans 12:1 in action. Yielded bodies to the Lord is not some mystical experience nor feeling. Rather, it is trusting in Him, and then "forcing," if necessary, our bodies to obey His word. Those who bowed to the demands of civil authority over their obedience to God's Word can claim they have yielded their bodies to the Lord God all they want, but they have not. Rather, they have yielded their bodies to the demand of the civil magistrate contrary to the principles of the Word of God. Thus the principle of idolatry in this situation cannot be avoided.
These young men feared God more than they feared man, the king and his fire (Mat 10:28). Because they feared God, when the time to choose came, they obeyed God rather than man.
Notice that the king knew the issue, viz. That they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Can we honestly believe that, as a rule, the civil authorities making their demands do not know what they are doing? The King of Babylon sure did. It is God's people who have bowed who will not admit the issue.
Thus yielding the body in accord with the Word of God must be an act of one's will: a determination that he will not allow any part of his body to do anything that is contrary to God's Word from the mind to the feet.
It was not until after they yielded their bodies that God sent His angel to deliver His servants who trusted in Him. It was after they stood that the Lord changed the king's word. Trusting in Him results in yielding the body to Him. Those who "bow" or "submit" to the demands of the state contrary to the clear requirements of God's Word because they fear loss or cost have not submitted totally to Him. One cannot submit equally to two masters (Mat 6:24; Luke 16:13). These young men of Daniel show us that it is not our business if our bodies are yielded to Him and burn anyway. Rather, it is the Lord's business. It is certainly easy to say and hard to apply, but our bodies are not to be our concern; our concern is to obey our God.
Ye servants of the most high God. It was not until they refused to bow that the civil authority recognized that they were servants of the most high God.
Thus we see the state requiring the registration and regulation of all religion. If the religion will register and submit to regulation, then the state will protect the religion; if the religion refuses to register and submit, then the state looks at the religion as its enemy to persecute to the fullest extent of the "law."
Admittedly, the choice provided by the state is very difficult: either submit to its authority and have peace, protection and prosperity, or refuse their claim and have persecution and pain. What a choice- but persecution over the past centuries has worked to keep the church strong and pure (1 John 2:19).
In conclusion, we see that unGodly civil authority punishes those who refuse to submit their worship of the Lord God to its claim of authority, considering the unsubmissive as sinners, e.g. Polycarp was called an Atheist because he would not say, "Caesar is Lord."
The historic issue has been that Christ does not need anyone's permission to operate. From the time of Rome, the state has said, "You can worship Christ if you will seek our approval." But when obedience to God is submitted to civil authority, what do we have but a state-sanctioned religious organization? Read the Forms.
In light of history, our "religious freedom" at the end of the twentieth century is not freedom but "religious toleration." In other words, if you will submit to the state's authority, it will tolerate your manner of worship. Those who say that genuine "freedom" and our current "toleration" are the same must ignore the facts. We received the letter saying that if we would seek their approval, we would have freedom from taxes. ("The power to tax is the power to destroy.") We did not seek their approval, so they sent us another letter saying that because we did not seek their approval, we must pay the sales tax. If we truly had "religious freedom," those who seek not their approval would enjoy the same "benefits" as those who seek their approval.
We are living in an idolatrous generation with which we are commanded not to keep company. God identifies covetousness as idolatry (1 Cor 5:10; Col 3:5). Does this not prohibit the use of God's money, tithes & offerings, to support state created religious organizations regardless of their name, e.g. "churches," "college," "mission boards," &c.? The name cannot hide the fact that they are state-created, state-owned and state-controlled religious organizations if they are incorporated &/or a NFP organization.
Certainly, we can purchase goods &/or services from religious organizations the same as can be purchased from any other business. But is God's money, tithes & offerings, to be used for God's work or to purchase goods &/or services from "religious organizations?" God's work is to be accomplished in His way and under His authority. But obviously, God can and does uses any means, organizations, persons &c., pleasing to Himself to bring glory to Himself. God used many pagan Babylonian kings and systems to glorify Himself. Though God uses paganism for His own glory, the prospect of monetary benefit that causes groups of people to submit God's work to the state is still idolatry (Eph 5:5. Let us avoid placing the Lord God of all creation into our restricted "theological box." God works not according to our understanding, but His).
Men more interested in financial benefit than in making Christ Lord over every area of life, especially over His Church, are a mark of the end times (2 Tim 3:2). Our Lord warned us, Take heed, and beware of covetousness (Lu 12:15). Peter sums it all up: And through covetousness, false teachers, appearing as Christ's apostles, deny the Lord and His authority over His church. Moreover, they may even speak evil of those who refuse to compromise His authority (1 Pet 4:4). They speak evil because of the monetary benefit which comes from submitting the "religion" or church of the Lord Jesus Christ to civil authority (2 Pet 2:1-3; 2 Cor 11:13-15).
To submit the Great Commission to civil authority, as we are asked to do through incorporation, is idolatry. Furthermore, to submit God's tithes and offerings to the civil authority, as we are asked to do through the not-for-profit, is idolatry no matter how many pleasant words are used to gloss it over. In the past, submission of the church to the civil government was recognized as idolatry, but for some reason, 1900 years apparently has changed the principles involved (Polycarp, qv.) It does not matter if the whole kingdom of Babylon bows to the image and submits to Nebuchadnezzar's claim of authority over the Lord's work, other's submission does not change the Word of God.
Our prayer should be that the Lord would see fit to give us both wisdom and courage to stand true to Him and His word in the face of social, economic, religious and political pressure. Moreover, we should pray that He would work in us both to will and to do His good pleasure in spite of the "fire" involved with the civil magistrates' demand of authority over all religious practice.
Chapter 3
A Concluding Thought
We should make one last point. Dr. R.J. Rushdoony points out that the Moloch worship in which God's people partook was no more than the worship of the state, statism (1 Ki 11:7, 33). He says,
Moloch worship was thus state worship. The state was the true and ultimate order and religion was a department of the state. The state claimed total jurisdiction over man; it was therefore entitled to total sacrifice. For a state to claim total jurisdiction, as the modern state does, is to claim to be as God, to be total governor of man and the world. The Moloch state is the product of apostasy. When a people reject God as their King, and make a man or the state their king, God declares the consequences (The Institutes of Biblical Law, Craig Press, pp 33-34. 1 Sam 8:7-9. I would recommend strongly that you read Dr. Rushdoony's treatment of Moloch worship).
We are now brought to a difficult situation concerning incorporation or the registration with the state as a NFP organization in order to do God's work. In this submission, God's people reject God as their King (final authority) and replace His authority with the state's.
The minor prophets dealt with this very thing. Notice especially Zep 1:5, and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham (Moloch). Thus God's people attempted to serve both the LORD and the state. God warned them, but they said, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil (Zep 1:12). "He doesn't care if I have to submit to another authority (incorporation/NFP) as long as I can go ahead and do His work." The LORD clearly points out that this cannot be done.
E.B. Pusey says of Hosea 2:5,
For whoever receives the gifts of God except from God and in God's way received them from devils. Whoso seeks what God forbids, seeks it from Satan, and holds that Satan, not God, loves him: since God refuses it, Satan encourages him to possess himself of it. Satan, then, is his lover (Barnes' Notes, Minor Prophets I, p 30).
Thus seeking the state's protection and provision through incorpora- tion or NFP status is devil worship under this principle laid down in the Old Testament. These principles are given to us for our instruction in righteousness today. When His people try to worship (submit to) both Him and the state, there is judgment ahead. No man can submit to two different authorities, nor will God share His glory with another (Isa 42:8; Acts 12:23).
Our beloved country can spend the total GNP on defense, but unless those who claim to be His people stop submitting the work they are doing in the Lord's name to the state, God's judgment is sure to come against all ungodliness, against all who refuse to glorify him as God (Psa 127:1; Pro 21:31; Rom 1:21). Modern Moloch worship is extremely prevalent in the church-state marriage relationship, i.e. incorporation &/or NFP. The secret church-state marriage where the church seeks benefits from the state is devil worship (Note the secrecy & convince the state provides to deny the Lord: churches do not have to place Inc. after their name). Then the church stands "amazed" at the rise of open devil worship in society. Throughout history, God has raised up God-hating heathens to chastise His people. What is to prevent His doing the same today? (Jer 25:9; 27:6; 43:10, &c. should cause God's people to fear their Lord. Geneva on Jer 25:9, "So the wicked and Satan himself are God's servants, because he makes them serve him by constraint and turns that which they do out of malice to his honour and glory." See also 1 Cor 5; Heb 12).
The only time any other authority can be submitted to is when submission does not conflict with the established truths of God's Word. All the pleasant words of "we are His special people" will do no better today than they did for those to whom Jeremiah spoke in their refusal to submit totally to their Redeemer and LORD. Nor did the Israelites of Paul's day who claimed special privileges when they refused to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ find special privileges. They vainly said "Abraham sits before the gate of hell and does not allow any circumcised Israelite to enter in there." (Romans, Charles Hodges, Banner of Truth Trust, p. 70. See also Mat 3:9).
But we must not forget that our God delights in mercy; His delightful mercy is available to His people right up to the final day of judgment. Anyone who will turn back to Him and seek His righteousness can claim His mercy. (Mic 7:18; Zeph 2:1-3 (Compare Zeph 2:3 & Mat 6:33); Pro 28:13, 14, &c). If His people will break their ties with Moloch, He can do some marvelous works through them. If they do not, then God have mercy on this land that we dearly love (Zeph 3:1-7).
God will judge this land for the sins of His people. One sin is identified as linking up with the state for the financial benefit in order to do "His Work." This sin is called covetousness, and has God's wrath against it (Jer 6:13; 8:10; 51:13; 6:13). Only by repenting of Moloch (Malcham, Satan) worship by those who are called by His name can there be any hope for any kind of a Christian future for America.