Growing with the Lord

9/12/25Thoughts on Dan 3-4; Psalm 81; Rev 18 Similarities: Idolatry and Divine Judgment All three texts confront the problem of false worship and its consequences. Daniel 3 depicts Nebuchadnezzar commanding universal worship of a gold statue, with death by fire for refusal. Psalm 81 warns Israel against bowing to foreign gods, while Revelation 17 portrays Babylon as intoxicated by the blood of saints, demanding worship through political and economic coercion. Each narrative presents idolatry not as private preference but as enforced allegiance—a political-spiritual demand backed by threat. The texts also share conviction that idols are fundamentally powerless. Jeremiah declares that gods not responsible for creation will perish, their images containing no breath. ( Jer 10:10–16 ) This principle underlies Daniel’s three friends’ refusal: the statue cannot save them, and Nebuchadnezzar’s authority, though real, remains subordinate to God’s. Similarly, Revelation’s beast “was, and is n...