Music is the universal language and it will be one of the final instruments Satan uses to complete his work in setting up a unified kingdom for the “last days.”

As Jordan often reminds, “Don’t you ever believe music is just a matter of freedom of choice and lifestyle; it’s not just something that’s harmless. It’s an instrument—it’s something Satan puts in his arsenal. You need to know what God says about music and how it ought to be evaluated.”

*****

In the book of Daniel, chapters 3-6 give a typical narrative example of the features of the “last days” at the latter end of “the times of the Gentiles.” Chapter 3 deals with the attempted institution of a universal religion by Nebuchadnezzar; something the Antichrist will do during the tribulation.

Daniel 3:15 quotes Nebuchadnezzar saying, “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?”

Jordan explains, “Nebby institutes this image’s dedication by a religious worship service. He’s instituting a state religion and he uses music to do it. You see, he’s a picture of that coming willful king (the Antichrist) who will set himself up to defy God Almighty, creating an image and demanding people worship it . . .

“There are things in this passage that are highly instructive for today. Verse 2 says, ‘Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and th’e captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.’

“You read that and you get the idea he had everybody; he didn’t leave anybody out! It’s an amalgamation of state and religion together in one and he’s proclaiming himself as ‘the head of gold.’ He said, ‘I’ll not just be the head of gold in this image, I’ll be the whole image! I’ll be the whole she-bang and I don’t care what God says!’

“In other words, it’s an enforced religion—‘If you don’t worship, we’re gonna getcha; we’re gonna kill you!’ These people are determined there should be no lack of unity. Everybody is going to be together, worship together and agree together about this thing and there isn’t going to be any division and lack of unity in the midst of what they’re doing. This would have been a real good time, folks, to be a new evangelical!

“That’s why the Apostle Paul says that if a man is an idolater—that is, if he bows down to icons and images and all that kind of stuff—even if he’s called a brother, you’re to disassociate yourself from that man. Why? Because that is connected with a system that will ruin you and the people under your influence. It’s Baal worship.

“People say, ‘Well, I believe the right doctrine but I’m just going to go along and not rock the boat.’ And they’re the types who will just bow down because the pressure’s on them to do just that.

“You know what the pressure of the religious system is? Don’t rock the boat. Like Chamberlain said, ‘Peace at any price.’ He gave away Europe. You know what it cost? It cost the blood of thousands upon thousands upon hundreds of thousands of innocent boys on the battlefield.

“What you better maintain at any price isn’t peace; it’s truth! But they say, ‘We don’t care what your doctrine is—just bow down.’ Conformity. Unity. ‘Be one with us. Go along.’

*****

When Daniel 3:8 reports, “Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews,” the phrase “accused the Jews” connects with Revelation 12:10 where John talks about Satan being “the accuser of the brethren.”

Jordan explains, “You see, God still had a faithful remnant even in Babylon who wouldn’t bow their knee to idols. If you go back to Exodus 20:1, you’ll see that God warned them not to do this kind of thing, and they learned the lesson of their history.”

Daniel 3:12-14 continues, “There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
[13] Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
[14] Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?”

Jordan says, “These Chaldeans come in and they begin to accuse Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego on political grounds for not obeying their religion, saying, ‘They don’t regard you, Nebby. They don’t serve your gods. They don’t go to your church. They don’t follow your orders.’

“You see, that’s what happens when you get church and state stuck together. You ever hear of anybody doing that? Listen people, in the last days of ‘the times of the Gentiles,’ there’s going to be a monolithic, universal church, and that church is going to use political coercion to produce members and converts and adherents. It’s going on today; it has been for 2,000 years.

“The Council of Trent, in 1545, passed decrees that were binding in every country where the Roman church held sway and they said, ‘If you believe in justification through faith plus nothing, and you don’t believe in baptismal regeneration at the hands of Roman Catholic priests, or that the Apocrypha is part of the inspired Word of God, then you’re anathema. You’re accursed and the government has a right to murder you if you stand in public and say it.’

“And some of the most barbaric, butcherous, murderous acts that have ever been committed on the face of the earth happened as a result of that. The Counter-reformation, the Valley of the Piedmont, the Spanish Inquisition—all those things went out under the authority and the sanction of the government to kill heretics and the heretics were simply Bible-believing Protestants.

“Did you know, folks, that the greatest minority in the world is an independent, Bible-believing Protestant? There’s all these groups—Hispanics, Blacks, Orientals—but do you know who the real minority is? The minority that doesn’t have ANY rights? It’s a bunch of saved, Bible-believing, Bible-preaching people, and if you don’t believe that, you just hang around a little while, why don’t you!

“That’s what’s going to happen and that’s what these Chaldeans do, folks! They take them and accuse them on political grounds of not obeying religion. Now, you watch that go on and you’ll see that over and over and over in the world.”

*****

In Daniel 3: 16-18, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answer the king with, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
[17] 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.
[18] 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.”

Jordan says, “Boy, you talk about putting a dude on the spot, man! Nebby says, ‘Look, guys, let’s be reasonable about this thing. You better think this thing over; I’m fixin’ to burn you! All you got to do is go out there and bow down! It ain’t no big thing! It won’t cost you any money! I mean, so what if you won’t believe; you got me between a rock and hard place, so just c’mon and be reasonable, will ya?!’

“But those three guys said, ‘Nebby, we don’t have to take conference; we’re not careful to answer you,’ meaning, ‘We’re not at all worried about this matter.’

“That word ‘careful’ there—that’s that word over in Luke 10:38 when Jesus tells Martha, ‘You’re full of care. You’re anxious, uptight and jittery; full of concern.’

“That’s like that verse over in Philippians 4 where Paul says, ‘Be careful for nothing.’ In Matthew 10:18, when Jesus says, ‘Don’t take any thought for it,’ it’s that same kind of idea.

“In other words, ‘We’re not mulling it over and getting all bent out of shape. We’re just going to give you a straight answer about the situation and we won’t have any problem with what’s going on here.’

“Now, you know something, folks, that’s a real rarity in life. They’re not in a sweat and they’re not going to be diplomatic—they’re just going to give a straight answer when they come up to a problem.

“Like the old song goes, ‘They wouldn’t bow, they wouldn’t bend and they wouldn’t burn.’ But see, they didn’t know that yet that they (wouldn’t die). They said, ‘The God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace, and if not—if He lets us burn up—hey, we’re not going to bow anyway! We’re just going to trust Him.’

“That’s a great example of a clear conscience and, you know, Believers need to cultivate that same attitude in their walk. If you’ve got a clear conscience, and you’re not trying to con people—you’re just trying to serve God and do what He wants you to do—

a clear, straight answer will be a habit with you.

“Let me show you what I mean. Go to Matthew 21:25 and then over to Matthew 17:24 and you’ll see examples of two different kinds of answers.

“You know, folks, if you want to study psychology, you want to study your Bible. The Bible’s full of psychology. In Matthew 21, the Lord Jesus is talking to the religious leaders—the chief priests and the elders of the people—and he asks them, ‘The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?’

“It then says ‘they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell.’

“That’s an easy question, isn’t it? Don’t you reckon those guys had an opinion about where the baptism of John came from? You better believe they did! They knew what they thought!

“But they answered Jesus and said, ‘I don’t know.’ Those rascals! They knew good and well what was going on. You know what they were? They’re just a bunch of deceitful, evasive, self-preserving lovers of men’s praises. That’s what they were.

“Those guys, they we’re just willfully ignorant. They weren’t ignorant; they were willfully ignorant! They sit and reason, ‘If we say this, it’s going to cost us that, and if we say that, it’s going to cost us this. We better just say, NO COMMENT!’

*****

“Now, let me show you the other kind of answer in Matthew 17. I don’t know what you think about Peter but he was the kind of guy who didn’t mess around when he gave an answer. Here’s a passage that fascinates me and one you ought to think about sometime:

‘And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
[25] He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
[26] Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
[27] Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.’

“When it says, ‘Jesus prevented him,’ Christ read Peter’s mind and stopped him before he could talk and said to him, ‘What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute?’

“You see how with Peter, it’s just, ‘Boom!’ there’s the answer?! No messing around, no hesitation. He’s quick. Just gives Jesus an answer just like that. No quibbling. No, ‘I wonder what He means.’ No, ‘I wonder what He would want me to say.’ No, ‘If I say this, He’s going to do that and it’s going to get me!’

“That’s exactly the way Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were and, people, that’s the way you want to be! You want to cultivate in your soul the capacity to just say, ‘Hey, I’m going to stand on what God says, and I’m going to do the right thing, and I’m not going to worry about the praise of men, and cutting corners, and pushing buttons, and pulling strings. . . I’m just going to be straight out!’

“Now, I know what the world says: ‘Yeah, but you gotta always cover your backside!’ Listen, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were not careful; they weren’t worried. It was, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna bow! We’re not gonna bend and we don’t think we’re gonna burn! C’mon, check us out, Nebby!’ You see, they knew who they served.

“People, when you know what that Book says, and you live your life day by day on the basis of it . . . Not on the traditions of men, or what grandma did, or granddaddy did, or mama did, or Uncle Joe did, but on the basis of what you know God said . . .

“And you take that Word and store it up in your soul, and you build your life on the doctrine God’s given you—not on what He gave Israel, or to tribulation saints, but what He gave to you as a member of the Body of Christ in the dispensation of grace—you begin to build up a confident walk that has an unhesitating, steady gait to it that gives glory and honor.

“And you know what you find out? You find out what these guys in Daniel found out—God’s able to deliver you.”